Ask any fan to pick his/her favourite kabaddi player, one of the first names that will immediately pop up will be Rahul Chaudhari – the prototype kabaddi player, strong, athletic and full of that chutzpah that makes these players so popular with the crowds across the country.
What makes Rahul stand apart, apart from the obvious talent, is that bit of endearing-arrogance and confidence, something he takes to all of his matches.
So far, that style has proved to be extremely successful for the man who hails from Bijnor, but has found a new home in Hyderabad, where he plays for the Telugu Titans, one of the most popular teams in the Pro Kabaddi League.
It doesn't take too long to realise that the confidence and chutzpah isn't just for the cameras, and the one underlying thing that keeps him going, that keeps him wanting to perform and make astounding raids is the will to win and to be the best in the business.
"My game is based on a simple thing: No fear, because once you have fear, then you will go nowhere," Rahul, in an interview with International Business Times, India in Mumbai, said with a smile. "Jo darta hain, who mar jaata hain."
However, while that attitude is great, somehow, Rahul and the Telugu Titans have gone into freeze mode when it has come to the knockouts. Twice now, the Telugu Titans have impressed in the league stages and gone into the knockouts full of confidence, only to fall, both times, at the semifinal hurdle.
"We are very sad to keep losing in the semifinals," a downcast looking Rahul said. "(Last year) we were a superb team and it is a disappointment that I cannot express," a rueful looking Rahul said.
The reason for the loss in the semifinals? Rahul has no doubts over what it is. "The team becomes too aggressive, we come in overconfident, thinking we can easily beat the team in front of us," the 24-year-old raider added. "We came into the last semifinals on a nine-match winning run and we thought we will definitely extend that streak to ten.
"Jaipur Pink Panthers were a good team, but we had the better ammunition, and what cost us the match was overconfidence."
The best way to ensure the team are in the right space and thinking the way they should be going into such a big match is to bring experience to the side. The Telugu Titans have done that by buying Rakesh Kumar at the auction, and Rahul has no doubts that Rakesh will make a tonne of difference to the team's fortunes.
"We have really good players, even the new ones, but Rakesh Kumar is going to be the difference for us, purely because of the experience he brings," Rahul said. "When there is experience, it will help us handle the pressure better and play a more controlled game.
"At the end of the day, we are a young team, and we need experience in the side, which Rakesh will provide. Senior players will tell you where you're making the mistake and how to correct it, and that will benefit us a lot."
As valuable as Rakesh is, the key for the Telugu Titans this season is going to be their captain. When Rahul ticks, so do the Titans, and in a long Pro Kabaddi Season 5, which will run for 13 weeks and will have four extra teams in the lineup, the raider extraordinaire is predicting big things, chief of them adding to his league-leading 517 points (no other player has hit the 500 mark in PKL so far).
"I had gotten 500 points last time, now that the season is much longer, I am targeting 800 points. Another 300 points is definitely possible."
And what is going to help him get to that target? The laidback atmosphere in his second home.
"Hyderabad is a very chilled out city, there is no tension," Rahul added. "For example in Delhi or other places in the north, tension ka bhandar hain (it is filled with tension)."
A calm, cool and collected Rahul in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5, and we just might witness the first ever title for the Telugu Titans.
