Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) has not only changed the face of the sport itself in India but also given a fresh fillip to the dreams and aspirations of young talent like the Telugu faces of the Telugu Titans – Tole Prasad of Khammam (Telangana) and Sri Krishna of Chirala (Andhra Pradesh).
These two play for the Telugu Titans, which is owned by Srinivas Sreeramaneni of Core Green Group, Mahesh Kolli and Anil Chalamalasetty of Greenko Group and Nedurumalli Gautam of NED Group.
The Titans’ campaign in 2015 starts on July 18 and Gachibowli Indoor Stadium will host four matches between August 4 and 7 for which tickets are available online on bookmysport.in.
“It is a dream come true for me for when I started playing kabaddi, I was in 10{+t}{+h} standard. I never ever thought of this day – that I would rub shoulders with the best from across the world,” says Prasad, whose parents are farmers in Laxmipuram of Khammam district. “I owe a lot to my coach Jagmohan Sir (SAI coach at Saroornagar Indoor Stadium) as he trained me and Sri Krishna for three years,” he added.
The 22-year-old Prasad, still unemployed, is hoping for better days if he puts up an impressive performance in the PKL.
“Yes, being in the 2013 Indian camp for the Junior World Cup did help me fine-tune my skills. Over the last couple of years, I have put in a lot of effort to be a key left corner,” says the player, who has represented Telangana in two senior nationals so far.
So when he walked up to take a selfie with Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao, along with his star raider Rahul Chaudari, after the team logo launch, his joy was understandable.
“I want to make the State proud,” he says. Sri Krishna, rated very high by his coach, says that PKL presents a huge opportunity to showcase their skills.
“It is an unbelievable platform. Given the way it has become popular, if you live up to the expectations, you will be a star in your own way,” he says with a big smile.
Chief coach Ashok Kumar points out that kabaddi is now more of an urban sport and not just confined to rural areas as it was in the past, given the professional way in which it was being conducted and televised across Asia.
