Kho Kho World Cup | Mariano Pascual’s previous tryst with India and World Cups

Argentina's Mariano Pascual transitions from kabaddi to kho kho, aiming to lead his country to success in the World Cup.

 The Kho Kho World Cup is in its inaugural edition in India, but Argentina’s Mariano Pascual has been at a World Cup in India before. That was in 2016, when Pascual was part of Argentina’s kabaddi team for the third edition of the World Cup in Ahmedabad. It wasn’t a particularly memorable campaign as the South American country lost all five matches to finish bottom of Pool-A, but it was the beginning of Pascual’s tryst with tag-games that have their roots in India.

Pascual was 22 years old and very new to the sport of kabaddi then. Now 31, he has gone on to become captain of Argentina’s kabaddi team. At this opening edition of the Kho Kho World Cup, too, he has been entrusted with the responsibility of leading his countrymen.

Another common link between the two teams is coach Ricardo Acuna, who was instrumental in drawing Pascual to kabaddi a few months before the 2016 World Cup.

“I have been playing kabaddi for Argentina since 2016. And I have been playing kho kho professionally over the past year,” Pascual, who works as a physical education teacher at a high school back home, told The Hindu. “Kabaddi and kho kho are similar in terms of pursuit, escape, agility and leg speed. But kho kho requires more endurance than kabaddi.”

As the conversation veered towards football, a sport that is ubiquitous in Argentina, Pascual flashed a broad smile. Like most Argentinians, Pascual played football as a child. He was a right-back for Argentinos Juniors, the club that his idol Diego Maradona made his professional debut for, at the age-group levels. But belonging to O’Brien, a small town 300 kilometres from Buenos Aires, he wasn’t able to reach the highest level.

“I was a footballer at amateur level. Everyone plays football in Argentina. I tried to enter professional football, but it was very hard in terms of money to keep trying. I was also living in a small town, far away from the city where there are more chances to make the cut. So I couldn’t keep on trying. When I discovered kabaddi, I fell in love with it,” he said.

Can kho kho also gain popularity in his homeland? “We know that many countries had a lot more preparation time for this World Cup, but Argentinians can be good at a lot of sports. We just need time. I know that we can evolve in kho kho,” he said.