Aslam Inamdar goes from hardship in Takli Bhan to two Asian Games kabaddi golds in Nagoya

Aslam Inamdar stood on the mat in Nagoya on Saturday as India beat Iran to win the men’s kabaddi gold at the Asian Games, securing his second continental title. The raid in the final that yielded two touches proved decisive for India’s victory.

Inamdar grew up in Takli Bhan in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district as one of five children after his father died when he was young; his mother worked in other homes doing household chores and washing utensils to support the family. His elder brother Waseem later joined the police and helped arrange the marriages of their two sisters. Money was scarce—Inamdar recalls living in a house without proper flooring or a roof and experiencing periods when food was hard to come by.

He began working early to survive: at 11 or 12 he collected discarded bottles and sold them to scrap dealers, and later he worked at tea stalls and juice bars, washed utensils, cleaned washrooms and laboured in fields. He says, "If there was work to be done, I did it. I’ve cleaned toilets. I’ve sold juice and made tea. I’ve worked in fields. If there was a kabaddi tournament to play, I found a way to get there." He also slept under train seats and lived on stale vada pav while travelling across Maharashtra for tournaments when he was 14.

Kabaddi provided a pathway because it required little equipment and a village ground was enough for practice; Inamdar was inspired by his brother Waseem and senior player Rahul Bhor and trained despite his work commitments. He competed in the 50kg and 55kg categories as a teenager, earning between ₹200 and ₹500 a match, money that paid for food and further travel. He says, "No matter how long I worked during the day or night, I always went to the ground to train."

A setback came in 2014 when he nursed a fractured leg while India competed at the Asian Games and he watched the tournament on television; he said, "I was just watching kabaddi on TV. But I believe God’s plans are always better. My hard work never stopped." The Pro Kabaddi League transformed his finances: in his first season he earned ₹8 lakh and purchased a gold necklace for his mother. He went on to captain Puneri Paltan and established himself as one of India’s leading players.

Inamdar won his first Asian Games gold in Hangzhou and added a second in Nagoya, with both finals played against Iran. During the Nagoya final he made a risky deep raid that produced two touches; Pawan Sehrawat later said, "It was a bad decision," while Inamdar responded, "It was a wrong move, but ant bhala toh sab bhala (if the end is good, it’s all worth it)." He also noted the quality of the opposition: "Iran is generally the most challenging opponent for us. It has a strong defence and has very experienced players like Fazel Atrachali, who played in his fifth Asian Games." He described the victory over such an opponent as more rewarding: "A tough challenge makes winning the gold medal feel even more rewarding."

Reflecting on the journey from childhood hardship to international medals, Inamdar said, "Bhai, I’ve gone through things you wouldn’t even imagine. This is nothing," and added, "It still feels like a dream to me. I often think about how someone who didn’t even have food at home holds two international medals."

He now speaks with juniors at his training ground in Thane, working particularly with players from underprivileged backgrounds, and urged them to persist: "I want young, underprivileged players to dream big and aim to achieve even more than I have. I want them to know that whatever happens, they shouldn’t stop working hard. They shouldn’t stop believing," he said.