Rahul Sarangi. Picture by Uma Shankar Dubey

Jamshedpur, Oct. 28: Sports has always been his forte. From taking wickets on the cricket field to brilliant bicycle kicks on the soccer ground, there is perhaps hardly any sport where he has failed to prove his mettle. Therefore, when the opportunity came along, Rahul Sarangi literally took to rugby like a duck to water.

“Rugby had always attracted me. But with no scope in the city I had little option than to be content with watching the game on the small screen. However, once I enrolled at St. Xavier’s in Mumbai for my graduation, I took up the game at the first chance I got,” says Rahul.

From what began as mere attraction turned into a full-time obsession.

Rahul started climbing the rungs of success in the game and recently, he also represented his club, Bombay Gymkhana in the South Asian Championship held in Calcutta.

“First, I was playing for the Bombay Gymkhana Club’s B team. Then I graduated to the A team and now, if all goes well, then I may just make it to the national squad for an upcoming championship slated to be held in Hongkong in January next,” he says.

“My interest in rugby made me read a lot about the game,” said Rahul. “I was well versed with the rules and since I had played football and was a good kicker, I had an advantage when I started playing rugby at Bombay Gymkhana,” he adds.

He started by playing “touch rugby” and as his interest grew, Rahul played a couple of tournaments with the B- team.

It has been about two years since this steel city resident is playing rugby and has already participated in the Bombay Cup, Pune Cup, Famous Grouse Cup, All-India Championship and the South Asian Championship in Calcutta that showed him the competitive side of the game too.

“In the championships, both the teams of the Bombay Gymkhana — Hammers and Cockies — were participating. I played four out of the seven matches and in one of the matches, I collided with my opponent and broke my nose. Actually, we were playing in the try-line and I tried blocking my opponent when his head hit my nose,” he says.

“The game is like fighting a gorilla. One dose not quit when he is tired but does so when the gorilla is tired,” Sarangi added.

Rahul says: “The game requires exceptional fitness, supreme discipline and camaraderie. The emphasis is more on blending together as a team.”

The 20-year-old owes his expertise to his captain Chaitanya Singh and senior team members Rahul Bose, Nasir Huassain, Faisal Khan and other senior members.

“If today I have a fair idea about the intricacies of the sport, it’s only because of them,” says Rahul.