Journalism of Courage
Sixteen years ago,his brother brought home the gold medal for kabaddi from the Asian Games. Today,when the Indian kabaddi team bagged its sixth gold at the Asian Games at Guangzhou,it was the second gold for the Ghule family. City- based Nitin Gowardhan Ghule,who returned from Guangzhou with a Kabaddi gold medal,is the second in the family after his brother Raju Ghule who had done it earlier in 1994.
More than me,it has been my brothers dream that I win a gold at the Asian Games. So,when my parents watched me on the television grabbing the gold medal,they were in tears, said Ghule who represented the country in three international Kabaddi competitions till date.
Kabaddi has been in my blood. I decided to follow in my brothers footsteps since my school days. I represented the state at school nationals and the team secured third position. In 2004,I was the captain of the Maharashtra team and we won a silver medal at the under -19 championships. In fact,the time I remember the most is 2007- 08 when we brought home a gold medal at the nationals after a gap of 28 years, he said.
From being a Kabaddi lover to representing India at the Asian Games has not been an easy journey for Ghule. I have been working day and night for this. I have been associated with Sports Authority of India (SAI) since 2001 and have been following a strict regime since then. There were times when I would not get up,but then my brother would remind me of the expectations the family had from me.
Ghule is hoping for the day when Kabaddi is included in the Olympics. Kabaddi world cup will be held in Iran next year.
With the growing popularity of Kabaddi across the globe,I am sure that the day is not far when Kabaddi would be part of the Olympics. My dream is winning a gold at Olympics.
