Rinku’s village doesn’t know baseball but they’re all pitching for him

He threw a ball at 87 mph to win the contest, earning himself a cheque of US $100,000 and an invitation to San Francisco, where baseball professionals will finetune his pitching talent for a year. Then Rinku, along with other regional winners of the global contest, will be presented before representatives of 30 major league baseball teams who might want to sign up the rookie pitchers.

Rinku’s truck driver father Bramhadin Singh is dazed, consulting fellow villagers to tell you uncertainly that his 19-year-old son, considered a “loafer” or wastrel, may be the next “busball” star.

Having driven a rickety truck for 35 years, transporting cement from Renukoot in Sonebhadra to Nepal, to support his wife and seven children, the 50-year-old retired just six months ago. Two of the four sons are jawans in the Army and BSF, serving on the faraway Bangladesh and Pakistan borders, and they have a small agricultural plot, but it has been difficult to make ends meet.

“I have brought up my seven children in abject penury. Sometimes, we even slept on an empty stomach. But Rinku, my youngest, has ended up becoming the most talented son,” says mother Antaraja Devi, dabbing at her tears.

Rinku’s parents admit readily that they never believed he would one day turn around their futures since sports was the only thing he was good at. Though he was selected for the Lucknow Sports Hostel last year on account of his javelin talent — he won silver medal at the Junion National Athletics Championship at Vijaywada in November 2007 — for them it was only “bhala fenk”.

Their third son Rajan is incidentally also a sportsperson. A middle- and long-distance runner, he is enrolled at the Meerut Sports Hostel.

However, the family is quickly getting used to the newfound fame, making arrangements for the mediapersons who have been streaming into Holepur, situated 65 km from both Varanasi and Allahabad, and offering them sweets and samosas. People of the area, including small dhaba owners, guide any visitor to Rinku’s house.

A little away from the celebrations stands Vipin Kumar Singh ‘Chintu’ (22), who encouraged Rinku to take to javelin four years ago. “I am more than happy he has achieved what I never even dreamt of. Maybe our village which has given short shrift to sports-loving youths will soon become a hotspot for baseballers.”

The family is waiting for Rinku to return to the village. “Let him first come back with the cheque and then we will tell you what we will do with the money,” says Antaraja. As someone mentions that he wants to buy a swanky car for his parents, she admonishes: “He splurges a lot, but we believe that he will fulfill his dream of building a better house for the family at this village.”

Bramhadin just laughs: “Maybe god now wants me to drive a dream car rather than a rickety truck.”