Wrestling helps Iranian raider shine in Vivo Pro Kabaddi

CHENNAI: Iranian star Meraj Sheykh is one of the biggest draws at the ongoing fifth season of Vivo Pro Kabaddi. Thanks to his last-minute 'Super Raid' - Dabang Delhi - scripted a comeback win over Tamil Thalaivas in their clash at Ahmedabad on Thursday night. That raid fetched 3 points and Delhi won 30-29. The 29-year-old made a mark during last year's kabaddi World Cup as he helped Iran make the final where they lost to hosts India.
Iran - one of the powerhouses in this sport - has attracted a lot of attention due to their training methods. Wrestling is a popular sport in Iran and 'kushti' is part of the training regime of the kabaddi players. In order to improve their grappling power, the Iran players even apply oil over their bodies and engage in wrestling. The body becomes slippery due to oil and the opponent has to work a lot harder to grip and it also goes on to strengthen the arms.
Meraj, like many in the current Iranian team, was a national-level wrestler before his tryst with kabaddi. "In wrestling, you acquire skills like grappling the opponent and bringing him down. Even in kabaddi you need to do the same, and that's where the wrestling training helps. Kabaddi has got a lot more speed and intensity as compared to wrestling and you need to adapt," Meraj told TOI.
Meraj - who hails from the Sistan and Balochistan province in Iran - had his first brush with the sport by chance. "My parents wanted me to give wrestling a shot and I did so for 10 years. There happened to be a kabaddi tournament in my city where they were searching for players. My wrestling coach pushed me to give it a try. I did and my team won, and that's when I knew I had something special to offer in this sport," recalled the 29-year-old raider, who has two sisters and four brothers.
Meraj, who has been an integral part of the Dabang, has tried to learn the local language so that it becomes easier to communicate with the Indian players in the team. "In my time in India, I have managed to pick up a few key Hindi words which help me communicate. The players and staff at Dabang Delhi always make me feel comfortable and understand me well even though we don't speak the same language," he said.
Meraj believes Iran's good show at last year's World Cup has certainly increased kabaddi's popularity in the West Asian nation. "Our performance in the World Cup last year was a key moment for kabaddi in Iran. I think that performance helped create more awareness about kabaddi in Iran and also increased the interest around the sport. In the years to come, kabaddi has a chance of gaining more popularity in Iran," Meraj added.