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Kabaddi

Gautam Adani lends support to kabaddi player struggling to arrange two meals a day

Young athlete of kabaddi struggling to eat two times a day gets assistance from the owner of Adani Group through Twitter

Harmanjeet Singh Pro Kabaddi League
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Harmanjeet Singh (Source: Pro Kabaddi League)

By

Kalptaru Agarwal

Updated: 19 July 2021 5:37 AM GMT

Kabaddi has been known to be one of the favorite sports played in India. This contact sport from the villages of India gained momentum in recent years when Pro Kabaddi League was launched. Prior to the introduction of this League, Kabaddi was visible at the International level via World Cups and Asian Games in both the standard and circle format as most of the Asian countries have adopted the sport. India has been the undisputed champion at most of these tournaments but sadly, the sport isn't highlighted amongst the Indian fans and the players have not been provided with the best livelihood guarantees by the government. The pace has been slowly picked up by recognizing players from the sport for Padma Shri and assuring them job opportunities but there lies a major lack of incentive for athletes still at a huge scale. Let's find out the story of one of the star players of India in the game of Kabaddi who is not able to eat two times a day due to the faulty structure.

What is the story behind Harmanjeet?

Harmanjeet Singh is a young Indian-origin kabaddi player who is filled with a lot of potentials and has unleashed his talent in many major tournaments. Singh made his debut at the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League in season 7 with Gujarat Fortunegiants. Harmanjeet is a jolly-natured individual who has represented Punjab at senior national level tournaments. He is one of the three Punjabi players who has made his mark at the National Level and holds a great prospect for the future of kabaddi in India.

Why is there so much hype about him lately?

The country is all set to participate in their XIXth Olympic Games after being Independent in 1947. India is sending their largest-ever contingent to the Tokyo Olympics. There is a widespread belief across the nation that the quality of the athletes this time will help the nation deliver its best performance at the Olympics so far. Amidst this highly motivated highlight of Indian athletes, we should remember our other star sportspeople who are struggling to find a living for themselves.

Harmanjeet Singh is one such name in the field of Kabaddi who has been fighting for his life for the past few months. The problem arises from the fact that though, there is a massive uproar with people cheering for the star when some international event approaches but on the downside, these athletes are not given proper facilities to have a decent standard of living. In a land that is filled with cricket fans, other sports have started to gain limelight where the government of state promises to appoint them as state officials or some job with the government. The same was promised to Harmanjeet where he was supposed to receive a job alongside his profession as a kabaddi player by the government.

This has been far from reality for him and now as per a report by India News, "Harmanjeet is unemployed and is wandering without any proper food intake." This has also resulted in the reduction of his weight.

How did twitter react?

Twitter came in support of the player and showcased him seeking help from Gautam Adani, an Indian billionaire industrialist to help Harmanjeet in his journey so that he becomes healthy to perform well at the National Level to make India proud. The news coverage by India news was well received by the audience and also the industrialist came forward to put forth his views on the situation in a positive light.

Support from FortuneGiants of Gautam Adani

Team Gujarat FortuneGiants at Pro Kabaddi League 2019 (Source: Pro Kabaddi League)

Gautam Adani is the founder of the Adani Group, a multinational conglomerate based out of Ahmedabad is the owner of Gujarat Fortunegiants who gave Harmanjeet a chance to play at the Pro Kabaddi League. Adani is supportive of the players and wants to contribute to the rising sports culture in India. His love for Kabaddi was evident from his tweet which read,

"Kabaddi is the fragrance of the land, the color of our nation and the voice of Indians at the world stage. Every player deserves to have the best facilities available. We salute the hard-working character of Harmanjeet from the land of Punjab and our team FortuneGiants will be proud to help this talent utilize his full potential in every manner. May the voice of Kabaddi-Kabaddi stay alive always!"

A strategic change should happen soon

Harmanjeet is one such face amongst the many who are denied government jobs and face the facade of a good life ahead in the game of sports. Singh also thought that players senior to him were also achieving good pay scale jobs and had the love of sports for which he took this decision but 1-2 in the pool of many won't help to sustain the talent in this diverse land filled with potential. A change is needed to support these talents on every scale possible to help our nation grow in every sport.

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