Hooda on being bought by Jaipur Pink Panthers for 1.15cr: Never expected so much

Deepak Niwas Hooda during his stint with Puneri Paltans

Little did all-rounder (raider and defender) Deepak Niwas Hooda realise that he would emerge as one of the five Indian crorepatis in Pro Kabaddi League history while on a visit to the studio of the official broadcaster to comment on the two-day Player Auction for Season 6 on Wednesday.

'Never expected so much'

"I never expected so much money would be invested on us and kabaddi as a sport," Hooda, 23, who was bought by the Abhishek Bachchan-owned Jaipur Pink Panthers on Day One for a whopping Rs 1.15 crore, told mid-day. Hooda, now in Sonepat, where he's part of the Indian training camp, triggered a bidding war between many franchises. Haryana Steelers and Dabang Delhi fought a close battle to secure his services. However, it were the Panthers who came out victorious to bag the do-or-die specialist.

During the auction, Deepak Niwas Hooda had a clue that his price tag this year would increase only after Iranian defender Fazel Atrachali was pocketed by U Mumba for Rs 1 crore, the first to breach the one-crore mark. "The entire purse for a franchise is R4 crore. The same was last season as well so I thought I would be bought for around Rs 90 to 95 lakh, but when Fazel was sold for Rs 1 crore, I was confident that we Indians could also earn something on those lines," Hooda, who spent the previous two seasons with Puneri Paltans, explained.

Touching, inspiring journey

Hooda's journey has been touching and inspiring. The young lad, who hails from a farming family in Chamaria village in Haryana's Rohtak district, has had to cope with trying times. The first blow came at the tender age of four when he lost his mother and began assisting his dad in the fields while he was still at school. As fate would have it, his dad too passed away in 2013 due a severe illness when he was in the Class XII. To make ends meet, he left his studies mid-way and began to teach in a private school in the morning and worked in the fields in the afternoon. But the raging fire in his belly of making it big in kabaddi soon took over. He sealed a place in the Indian squad and made his debut in the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati. India pocketed gold.

Despite the highs he has achieved, the thought of his parents crosses his mind every day. "I do miss them. I would have used the money to look after them had they been living. But now, I've decided to build myself a house with this money in Rohtak. It would have been great had mom and dad been here," said Hooda, who wants to live in a city.

Big boost for kabaddi

Quizzed on the future of kabaddi, an indigenous sport, he added: "With five Indians becoming crorepatis this year, it's a good boost. The boost in TRP ratings has had a positive effect on the sport. In North India, most children in schools play kabaddi, be it kids of businessmen or police officers. Kabaddi is really getting big. There are a lot of countries playing at the World Cup too. The competition is growing. At one point of time, the TRPs of kabaddi were much more than cricket." In Chamaria village, the celebrations will kick off once he returns from the training camp next week.

Also Read: Meet Pro Kabaddi Leagues' new crorepatis

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