This policeman plays it rough

MUMBAI: Circa 2001 AD.

A constable with the Mumbai Police was called to the DG office. PS Pasricha, present DGP, embraced the 23-year-old. It was on that day that Shailesh Devrukhkar was rest assured that he made the right decision by choosing rugby as his sport.

Five years later, the Black Cat commando with the Anti-terrorist Squad’s Quick Response Team (QRT), has been selected to lead Maharashtra into the first ever seven-a-side inter-state rugby tournament at Bangalore. And he well knows that it is not going to be easy especially when he has to ensure that Maharashtra plays in the National Games which is to be held in Guwahati later this year. More so, with the presence of other strong teams like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka around.

“Frankly, I wasn’t even expecting the captaincy. But now that I have been chosen, I would have to ensure that we finish in the top two positions otherwise we would be awarded a place in a tougher group in Guwahati,” says Devrukhkar.

Interestingly, the 5 feet 8 inch cop got his job for his exploits in volleyball and judo. “I don’t think I would have represented India in those disciplines,” the 28-year-old says. True, his physique suits a physical game like rugby.

But his choice of sport has not pleased all. He faces opposition from his wife. “My father was into body-building and my elder brother was a volleyball player. So they have no
problem but my wife is always worried about me,” the inside-centre says.

But being a cop, Devrukhkar also has other things in mind following the Tuesday’s blasts. He even received a call from his office after the blasts saying that he might have to join duty if required. Without thinking twice, he said “yes.”

Team: Shailesh Devrukhkar, Ganesh Sawant (Mumbai Police), Hrishikesh Pendse, Preetam Roy (Bombay Gymkyhana), Anwar Shaikh (Magic Bus), Sandeep Singh, Senthil, Genna, Lamba and Charanjit Singh (Army)