If you go back and watch India’s matches from the recent Asian Kabaddi Championships, you’ll notice Pawan Sehrawat everywhere. He was raiding, lining up in a chain defence, attempting super tackles, giving raiders instructions before they crossed into opponent territory and more.
It is hard to imagine how someone so involved in a 40-minute kabaddi encounter spent an entire season off the mat after sustaining an injury inside the first 10 minutes of the opening fixture of Pro Kabaddi League season 9.
Pawan missed out on galvanising a new team (Tamil Thalaivas), and a slew of records. All that FOMO (fear of missing out) was channelled in his performances in Busan, South Korea. Pawan was crucial to India winning the gold medal, registering two Super 10s in the tournament while acting as a pivot in attack and defence.
However, a few months back, he underwent a right knee operation after sustaining an ACL injury during the PKL season opener against Gujarat Giants.
Battling FOMO
“I am an athlete, so I had to balance both the itches — of wanting to recover carefully and properly and battling the urge to get onto the mat,” Pawan tells The Hindu. “My injury had changed the course of results a bit. I felt I had to find a way to play. I wanted to put on a band-aid and go and play. But it was not to be.”
Pawan was inspired by javelin Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra’s recovery from a potentially career-ending elbow injury and decided to approach the people who had helped the fellow Haryana athlete.
“I mailed JSW from my end. The team here sorted my own personal support staff — with a physio, a trainer and a nutritionist whose backup continued even after I came home. They have a huge hand in my return to the mat,” Pawan explains.
The 26-year-old is snapping at the heels of superstar raiders like Pardeep Narwal, Maninder Singh, Deepak Niwas Hooda and Rahul Chaudhari in how he hoards points game after game. Pawan is currently fifth in the all-time raiding points standings with 987 to his credit in 105 PKL games.
Best of both worlds
“At the Inspire Institute of Sports in Bellary, I was assigned to Dinesh and Manish — my trainer and physio. The priorities for my time there were two-fold — one to get me back to my old fitness levels and, the other, to take that fitness a notch higher,” Pawan says.
When The Hindu caught up with Pawan before PKL 7 in Chennai, he told us just how much he hated working out in the gym.
“Mujhe gym pasand nahin hai — the idea of exercising on the treadmill or working with the dumbbell in a small area. I like the outdoors better. If I get a park or an open space, I will spend my time running there instead.”
Today, Pawan is easily in the best shape of his life because of a curated rehab and exercise regimen which includes barbell squats and deadlifts in the gym and sprints on the track.
“I have never done weight training as part of my routine before,” Pawan explains. “When I asked them about the benefits, they would say, “Pawan bhai, aapko iska benefit mat pe dikhega (you’ll see the benefits on the mat, brother).”
“We worked on my core and found that parts like my shoulders were weak. So, we picked them out and worked on them specifically. I understood how important strengthening my core was to my jump,” Pawan, who is called the hi-flyer for his evasive frog jumps, says. “I jump quite well anyway but imagine, I manage that with a weak core. Working on my core made these jumps easier. Manish worked on my speed — to match the speed of my feet and footwork with my mind.”
Pawan has made a few friends during his time at IIS — with triple jumper Praveen Chithravel and boxer Sachin Siwach. The banter extends to their workouts, with Praveen often calling Pawan for a round of jumps.
“I have not tried the triple jump yet (laughs),” Pawan says sheepishly. “Our bonding has been fantastic — among Praveen, Sachin and me. Praveen looks lightweight but he lifts a lot more than I do. He is a great guy, very punctual about his routine. So, there is a plan to do this (a triple jump challenge) when the Bengaluru camp begins. Either he comes over or I will head to Bellary, and we will collaborate on something fun,” he adds.
One consistent pain point for Pawan before a PKL season or tournament was making weight.
“The limit is 85kg and I was always around the 86 to 88kg mark. I used to run and starve to reduce weight, but I now have a nutritionist to help me sort that part out. I was in touch with her until just before the Asian Championships,” Pawan explains.
“The boys around me would wonder who I was constantly messaging and sending photos of every meal to, but it helped. She would ask me for a plan and ensure I stuck to it. This tournament was the first time I made weight without starving myself and losing energy,” he adds.
The camp in Patna before heading to South Korea helped Pawan to shake off the cobwebs.
“The challenge for me was the return to training and workouts as a team. I was working out and doing physical work before but when you are doing that individually, you can take rests according to your pace, but not when you’re in a team set up. This was a fresh experience after the six to seven-month gap due to injury and the subsequent rehab. That was a win I savoured for a while,” Pawan explains.
A way to feed the fire
India put on an aggressive show in Busan, taking massive leads against weaker opponents and even keeping the likes of Iran at bay with leads of over five to 10 points.
Back in his Bengaluru Bulls days, erstwhile captain Rohit Kumar, in addition to rallying his forces on the mat, also had the responsibility of keeping Pawan calm in pressure situations. In a ‘how life comes full circle’ situation, Pawan took on that role for the juniors in the team during the Asian Championships. In India’s matches against Iran, he was constantly speaking to Aslam Inamdar, who tends to get a little antsy in do-or-die raids.
This element of patience aside, Pawan also showed his aggressive side in Busan, taking on the Iranians when they misjudged their lines or asked for points that he felt weren’t there, enough to draw comparisons with former India cricket team captain Virat Kohli.
“I don’t mean to draw that comparison). If something is wrong and I see it happening on the field, I will speak up. If someone is coming for my team, I will react. Saamne wale ko chodunga nahin (I won’t let the person before me get away).
Pawan does love his cricket heroes though, and emphasises his adoration for Kohli’s friend and former teammate A.B. De Villiers.
“Mr. 360,” is the first thing he says when ABD’s name comes up. “He is able to hit shots all around the park. I want that in my kabaddi. There shouldn’t be an element of the game I can’t do,” he says.
Revenge, retrieval and rigour
Another emotion that binds this Indian squad together is disappointment. The wounds from the defeat at the 2018 Asian Games semifinals to Iran are still raw. While Pawan insists that India is not focusing on any one team, every statement of intent from the raider is about ‘bringing the gold medal back.’
“I was in the Bengaluru Bulls camp in 2018 when India lost that final. Watching those men break down and cry was a horrible memory that is etched in my mind to this day. I don’t know if they’ve ever sobbed like that again, but that shouldn’t have happened,” he remembers.
“It is not only about Iran. We won’t take it easy with any team. We need to make a statement that we are better prepared than before and we’re out to regain that medal we lost in 2018. The 12, whoever it may be, will give our 200 percent at the Asian Games,” he says.
“The message from my circle is simple — go play your game calmly and bring back the gold medal we lost,” Pawan says.
