Playing for his father's dream, Gujarat Giants' Parteek Dahiya wants to represent India

One of the standout performers for Gujarat Giants in the ongoing Pro Kabaddi League season 9, Parteek is among the young players taking the league by storm. A versatile all-rounder has been winning matches for Gujarat Giants.

Inspired by his uncle, Parteek is keen to use the big platform he got at Gujarat Giants and fulfill his father's dream of seeing him play for India.

"The young players are very determined to perform well at this level. Many players like Parteek Dhaiya and Rakesh have come out of the New Young Players (NYP) programme. Nothing could be better for any team if the players from the NYP programme played in the first seven," Singh said after the Giants defeated the Bulls.

Parteek is not new to the sport and was introduced to Kabaddi by the decorated Indian player and his uncle, Deepak Niwas Hooda.

"My inspiration is my uncle Deepak Niwas Hooda. I have learnt Kabaddi from him. My father and uncle handled all of my concerns and always supported me. They always kept me away from all the problems. My family expected me to do better than them. So, there was pressure at home in that sense," Parteek said.

The dynamic all-rounder, who has been around Kabaddi for many years, admitted that doing well in the sport was his sole goal, with academics and school often taking a back seat when training sessions were on the agenda.

"Apart from Hindi, one of the things I looked forward to in school was playing Kabaddi. Whenever I need motivation, I practise and try to work on my game because my uncle always told me that putting in more effort will help me become a better athlete," he said.

Close friends with teammate and defender Rinku Narwal, Parteek, who hasn't had the smoothest journey during the formative years, is hopeful of realising his father's dream – wearing the India colours.

"My father wanted to see me play for India and I hope my performances with the Gujarat Giants in the PKL will help me make it to the Indian team and then the Asian Games. I want to take advantage of the PKL's big platform and opportunity to compete against the best players in the sport to advance my career," he signed off.

For Parteek and the Gujarat Giants, who recently had a day out in the city of Pune, the next assignment pits them against the Bengal Warriors on Saturday, 12 November.