Bengaluru Bulls faced Tamil Thalaivas in their first game in a packed house in Chennai as the home crowd were creating a real ruckus to get their side a much needed victory over their nearest rivals in the first-ever Southern Derby of PKL season 6. As far as the Bulls’ supporters are concerned they had skipper Rohit Kumar, who had already made a name of himself in the kabaddi circle, to depend on. It was touted as a battle between Ajay Thakur and Rohit but once the 40 minutes of action had ended on the mat, there was only one name doing rounds and that was of a 22-year-old lad from Delhi – Pawan Sehrawat.

“The coaches’ advice has worked well for me this season as the coaches and the captain have asked me to play my natural game. I have tried to give my 100% in every game and have worked according to the plans of the team management which have gone well in my and team’s favour so far.”

Born in a farming family in Delhi on July 9 1996, Pawan took kabaddi seriously at the age of 12. He played in the school nationals and All India University Games during his growing years and had an aim to make a career out of it. He always got encouragement from his family especially his father, who Pawan credits for the success in his career. He was in his second year of graduation when he landed with a job in the Indian Railways and had to discontinue his studies. Being posted in Delhi under Northern Zone, Pawan has an aim of completing his graduation through correspondence courses. 

“Papa always supported me and there was no pressure from my mother as well and they let me play the sport. Whenever I don’t perform well in any tournament he stands beside me and that gives me a lot of strength. I continued with my studies and there was never a phase where kabaddi affected that until I got a job two years back. I still want to complete my graduation by enrolling in correspondence courses,” informed Pawan.

“I played well in the senior nationals in the last two years and so my value went up in the auctions this year. I had a decent outing at the Federation Cup as well for the Railways team,” said Pawan.

“I started as a defender during my early days of kabaddi. In Senior Nationals, I got a chance to raid and then I performed well there which has helped me to become a good raider. Previously I used to play corner and cover defender in both the sides. Now I am happy that I am doing well both in raiding and in defence which has been useful for the team.”

“The credit of my success goes to Randhir sir. What I am today is all because of him. The special coaching by him in every match has been very helpful in shaping my career. He keeps focus on my timing and my playing style before and after every match and sits with me to help me grow in future. There is a one-hour special practice session planned by him for me,” explained Pawan, who idolises Manjeet Chhillar and wants to be a successful all-rounder like him one-day.

Sehrawat had only nine raid points to his name in nine games that he played last year for Gujarat Fortunegiants and didn’t have a single Super Raid or Super 10 to his name whereas in only four games this season he has 60 raid points with an excellent average of 15 points per match. Apart from the game against Puneri Paltan, he has Super 10 in all other games and has six Super Raids to his name so far. The Bengaluru raider is at number four in the list of top raiders of the season but has the best average as compared to all those are above him on that list. He believes the pre-season coaching camp was very helpful to develop his raiding skills this season and the team has also used him as a defender as and when required considering his ability to tackle from any position of the mat.

“The coaching camps held prior to the league were very important for me as special practice and video sessions were organised for all the players. My flaws were looked after properly and the coaches helped me a lot to rectify my mistakes from the last few seasons. Now I can feel the difference while stepping on the mat and the results indicate the same as well,” informed Pawan.

Like all other professional kabaddi players, Pawan also aims at donning the Indian jersey in the future. He has never played for India at the junior level and hopes that he will get a chance to represent the nation in the World Cup very soon.

“All kabaddi players dream to play for India and I also want the same. Meri bhikoshish hai ki meri bi chest pe paanch akshar likhe milein – India. I want to get India tag and my next aim is representing my country in the World Cup.