From slums to the rugby turf

Javed Hussain emerged as one of the best Indian players from the recently concluded Rugby Premier League (RPL).

- Sandip Sikdar

Playing as a centre in the backs, the 22-year-old would smoothly glide through the opposition defence regularly which helped his team, Hyderabad Heroes, finish on top of the points table after the league stage ended.

However, his journey into rugby has been anything but smooth. Born in the slums of New Delhi, Hussain had a rough childhood. His father, a mason, struggled to make ends meet with a wife and six children — four boys and two girls.

Hussain was 15 when The Earth Foundation, a Swiss nongovernmental organisation (NGO), visited the slum behind posh Vasant Kunj to educate children from poor backgrounds and also make them play at least one sport. While crossing the park near his house, Hussain noticed some friends from the slum run after an odd-looking ball. Curious, he enquired about the sport. That's how he got to know it was called rugby.

His friends and coaches of rugby club Delhi Hurricanes who had partnered with Earth Foundation invited him to play. “I thought ‘why not?” It looked fun and I didn’t even have to pay anything,” Hussain told HT. “I ran, laughed, joked and thoroughly enjoyed.”