Often we get dazzled by the glamour, riches and fame that Indian cricketers are privileged with. But a lot of hard work, tribulations and challenges that make them reach there go unnoticed. Ghaziabad’s Suresh Raina’s journey to stardom was no different. Only 13, Raina was struggling to cope up with bullies in the Sports Hostel in Lucknow. Wearing his cricket kit to counter the winter night, Raina was sleeping over a newspaper in a train as a bunch of other teenagers were travelling to Agra. Soon he felt a weight on his chest; before he could react, a big kid stood on his chest and started urinating on his face. In an interview with Indian Express, Raina revealed that he pushed off the kid, punched him and threw him off the train.
The train incident and several other similar episodes made a young Raina quit the hostel and return home. Here are some of the extreme cases of bullying that Raina shared in the interview: trash was thrown in their milk buckets, and he and the other bullying subjects had to filter the milk with a scarf before drinking. Buckets of cold water would be splashed on them on harsh, chilly winter nights. In fact, Raina was even hit with hockey sticks.
One of his batch-mates went to a coma-like state while another wanted to commit suicide to put an end to it. Raina managed to stop him but suicidal thoughts had crossed his mind too. He was helpless. “Students used to come from Pratapgarh, Raebareli, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh — athletes revolver rakh ke sote tey (they kept guns and slept). How could I show anger? They might just hit me or shoot me; khatam sab (all finished),” recalls Raina.
“You just wanted to get up and beat them but you know if you hit one, five will jump on you. Kya karen (What to do)?.”
What was the reason? Raina told Indian Express: “They were there to get certificate from the hostel. Spend four years, take certificate and get a job in Railways or wherever in sports quota.” The boys were from an athletic branch, and were jealous of Raina’s progress.
It was not safe outside campus as well. People still carry guns in many parts of the city. Once Raina hitchhiked a truck and they did not stop at the location he wanted to get down. He somehow managed to sneak out it in a tollbooth fearing a homosexual assault.
The scarring experiences made Raina move out of the hostel. It was only after his elder brother’s intervention that he joined back after a couple of months. This time his brother had safety promises from the authorities. From the UP hostel to swanky hotels around the world, Raina had the last laugh.
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