Kabaddi World Cup: Local lad Parmar living his father's dream

AHMEDABAD: He is doing what his father failed to achieve. Kiran Parmar, 31, is the local flavour in the Indian team for the World Cup and the venue of the mega event (Maninagar) is not very far from where Parmar lives (Jamalpur).
A man of very few words, Parmar took time to open up, but once comfortable, he narrated his story, which is full of struggle, heartbreak and finally, success.His father Lakshman, a supervisor with Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) who manages a group of cleaners, was a national-level kabaddi player and always had a dream of representing the country.
Lack of support and guidance cut short his career, but he inspired his son to traverse the path he failed to pursue. Parmar participated in the National School Games at 16, which helped him get admission into the Sports Authority of India, Gandhinagar hostel in 2001. His debut for India in 2004 against Bangladesh went largely unnoticed, but was enough to get him a job with Railway Mail Service (RMS) Speed Post office in 2007. "I could study only till class 10. I badly needed a job to sustain my family. Kabaddi gave me everything I have today, including my wife Kusum who is also a national kabaddi player," Parmar told TOI. "We lived in a one room house which had a roof of steel. It's because of the game that I could convert it into a two-room dwelling with a cement roof," he added.
Parmar tasted success quite late in life. In 2011, he was picked up by Hyderabad Horses in the Karnataka Premier League. He played four matches in that tournament. Then, he was picked up by Benguluru Bulls in the opening season of PKL in 2014, but an injury ruled him out. "The kabaddi World Cup is the biggest tournament of my life. There will be pressure on me to perform, but I am up for it," he asserted.