When he was in his early teens, Aslam Inamdar would scavenge discarded bottles and sell them to scrap dealers to afford a meal. He would travel across Maharashtra to play kabaddi tournaments, sleeping under train seats, boarding trains without tickets, surviving on vada pav or whatever food he could find. Sometimes he would save leftover tournament food in his bag to eat later, even after it had gone bad.

On Saturday, the 26-year-old from Taklibhan village in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar found himself on the other side of that struggle.

Having helped India beat Iran in the Asian Games final, the all-rounder had a gold medal around his neck and, for nearly 30 minutes, posed for selfies and made reels with it. For a man who had once worked at tea stalls, washed utensils, cleaned washrooms and laboured in the fields to make ends meet, the moment was almost impossible to comprehend. “It still feels like a dream to me,” Inamdar said. “I often think about how someone who didn’t even have food at home now holds two international medals.”

Story continues below.
Subscribe to see fewer ads.

Inamdar (wearing jersey no.33) and the rest of the Indian team celebrate winning gold on Saturday at the 2026 Asian Games.

When his father died, his mother was left to raise five children. She worked in other people’s homes, doing chores and washing utensils, to keep the family going. His elder brother, Waseem Inamdar, joined the police force and took on responsibility for the family. Inamdar was determined to make a name for himself in kabaddi, the way his brother had.

He took whatever work he could find: washing tea glasses at stalls, working at juice bars, cleaning washrooms, labouring in the fields. There were days he worked through the day and night, only to head to the kabaddi ground for practice. “I faced many hard situations without letting them break me,” he says.

By 15, he was travelling alone to local weight-category tournaments. “I traveled extensively on trains without tickets, sleeping under seats to play local tournaments, earning Rs 200 to 500 per match. Sometimes, I would compete even if they would just give me food,” he says, clutching his medal.

***

It was enough to keep him going. Kabaddi, he says, offered a chance to build a life beyond the one he had known. His elder brother’s reputation as a kabaddi player across several districts, and the example of senior player Rahul Bhor, fuelled his ambition. It was also a sport he could afford, requiring little beyond a playing surface and the will to keep turning up.

Story continues below this ad

There was a time, though, when even that dream seemed out of reach. In 2014, when India won gold at the Asian Games, Inamdar was watching on television with a fractured leg. “I believe God’s plans are always better,” he says. “My hard work never stopped. If your intentions are good and you stay a good human being, God supports you 100 per cent.”

The breakthrough came with the Pro Kabaddi League. In his first season, in 2020, he earned Rs 8 lakh, a sum that, he said, felt like Rs 8 crore to him. “With that money, I bought my mother a gold necklace,” he says.

Aslam Inamdar playing for Puneri Paltan in the Pro Kabaddi League. (Aslam Inamdar Instagram)

On the mat, Inamdar became a versatile all-rounder, playing the left cover position and contributing to both India’s defensive and attacking efforts. He was instrumental in the win over Iran on Saturday, coming on as a substitute in the first half, when India were trailing, and changing the game with his raids.

He now shares his journey with younger players at his training ground in Thane. “Pro Kabaddi gave me name, fame, money and respect. I have represented India and won medals,” he says. “So I want young, underprivileged players to dream big and aim to achieve even more than I have.”

Story continues below this ad

The boy who once travelled ticketless, slept under train seats and saved scraps of food to eat later now has two Asian Games gold medals to call his own.