This Keralite martial artist is all set to 'krush' Pakistan

This Keralite martial artist is all set to 'krush' Pakistan
Indian mixed martial artist Rahul K Raju aka 'The Kerala Krusher'.

Talking of India-Pakistan clashes in sports, the first thing that comes to one's mind is either cricket or hockey. But come February 22, we would see an actual fight between the two rival nations and it will be inside a cage!

India’s very own Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Rahul K Raju, the 'Kerala Krusher', who hails from Mallapally in Pathanamthitta, will lock horns with Pakistan’s Ahmed Mujtaba in the lightweight category of the ONE Championship in Singapore.

Now the question is, did we know about it? Not many for sure. Because the sport hardly gets much coverage in our country.

A hard-hitting combat sport, MMA involves striking and grappling. It doesn’t matter if the two competitors are standing or not, the opponents with a combination of techniques borrowed from other forms of martial arts battle each other. Wrestling, boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), Muay Thai, kick-boxing, taekwondo, karate, kung-fu, judo etc, all form an important part of MMA, with various components having different philosophies. Because of its violent nature, the bouts were initially banned from broadcasting in many countries. But for the past decade, MMA has grown to be one of the most viewed sports in the world.

Renowned fighters like Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey have become idols for many - both of them compete in the US-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the largest MMA industry in the world.

Rahul currently has a career record of five wins against four losses.

Throughout the years, the MMA scene in India has faced countless challenges. But despite the setbacks, the country has recently produced some promising fighters including Rahul. The 27-year-old, who is also a MMA coach at 'Juggernaut' Fight Club in Singapore, is arguably one of the best.

The rise of the 'Kerala Krusher'

Rahul's passion for martial arts was too strong that he decided to become a coach in the same club that he trained in.

Rahul, who was inspired by martial arts legend Bruce Lee, started learning kung-fu at the age of 14 in Kerala. Five years later he moved to Singapore in pursuit of higher education and soon ended up training in mixed martial arts. “While I was studying, I trained silat (martial arts) for a year at Temasek Polytechnic. After I graduated, I started training in mixed martial arts at Juggernaut Fight Club,” recalls Rahul.

Despite pursuing a career as an assistant engineer in a semiconductor company, his passion for martial arts was too strong that he decided to become a coach in the same club that he trained in.

MMA Career

Rahul, who was inspired by martial arts legend Bruce Lee, started learning kung-fu at the age of 14 in Kerala.

In 2014, Rahul started competing in the amateur ranks before turning pro two years later. His unforgiving offense helped him finish off four of his first six opponents and earned himself an intimidating nickname. “I always try to put the pressure on my opponents and literally ‘crush’ them, so my head coach Arvind Lalwani gave me the nickname Kerala Krusher,” he says.

Rahul currently has a career record of five wins against four losses, with four of the five wins not going beyond the first round, which helped him earn a call from ONE Championship.

Struggles in ONE Championship

Rahul with his head coach Arvind Lalwani.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t been a smooth start for Rahul in the Singapore-based championship as he lost in a flash to Thailand's Shannon Wiratchai on his debut and most recently succumbed to Garry Tonon of the US. Like a true warrior though, Rahul takes his defeats as learning opportunities and is now raring to get back in the cage as soon as possible.

MMA in India

Rahul in action during his MMA match against Garry Tonon of the US.

Rahul feels India’s MMA scene has a long way to go to catch up with other foreign countries, but it is getting better. “We have some high-level fighters now, even though the numbers are very less. They have started to get exposure and now big promotions are coming to India. The sport is indeed growing, but it needs more push and awareness. Besides hard work and passion, we need good coaches and a team to shape excellent fighters,” says Rahul.

On the upcoming clash with Mujtaba

Rahul Raju with his training colleagues.

At present, Rahul is not in the best of form as he is yet to record a win in ONE Championship after losing his first three bouts. Mujtaba, nicknamed ‘the Wolverine’ has a career record of nine wins against two losses. Admiring his Pakistani counterpart, Rahul said “Mujtaba is one of the best Pakistani fighters around. So, it’s obviously going to be a very interesting bout. It’s India vs Pakistan. The fire is there. Even style wise it will be guaranteed a good fight for the MMA fans. I’m looking forward to it,” says a determined Rahul.

Family

Rahul will lock horns with Pakistan’s Ahmed Mujtaba (L) on February 22 in the lightweight category of the ONE Championship.

Rahul, who has been living in Singapore for the past nine years, visits his family at Mallapally during vacations. His father Raju Abraham is a former technician in Apollo Tyres Ltd and mother Laly Raju is a homemaker. He has two younger siblings – his brother Renvil works in sales department in a private hospital while sister Renji is a civil engineer.

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Rahul K Raju with his family.
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