The coach signaled. Pardeep removed his warm-up jacket. The stadium announcer’s voice boomed: “Coming in for Bengaluru Bulls… at left raider… Pardeep Narwal!”
He stopped.
A smattering of claps. Some pity applause. A few teenagers in the stands held up a sign: “Dubki? More like Dukhi (Sad).” pardeep narwal (pardeep_narwal9) latest
Pardeep replied with a single emoji: 🧡. The coach signaled
The first half justified the mockery. Pardeep entered the raid in the 7th minute. He attempted a running hand touch. The Titans’ right corner, Mohit, read it perfectly. A swift block. Pardeep slammed into the mat. Empty raid. On the bench, the new raider, Vikrant, was scoring 5-point Super Raids like they were candy. A smattering of claps
His first training session with the Bulls was a disaster. A 20-year-old corner defender named Akshit—who had a YouTube subscriber count double that of Pardeep’s—caught him with a perfect ankle hold three times in a row. The third time, Akshit smiled. Not a cruel smile, but a smug one.