It was right after the 1994 World Cup from where Diego Maradona was sent home having failed a drug test when Ricardo Alberto Acuna met the Argentine great at a badminton court in Buenos Aires.
Maradona was not only an idol to Acuna, then a badminton player, but also regarded the 1986 World Cup winner as God in Argentina, and holding a conversation with the eternal legend, sharing racket and finally taking a cherished photograph are still buzzing in his memory.
Acuna, currently in Dhaka for the Bangabandhu Cup 2023, rekindled memorable past events while talking on how he introduced kabaddi in his homeland a few years after meeting Maradona.
He had travelled to Canada where he noticed a group of Indian people playing kabaddi during the latter half of the 1990s.
It caught his attention and got him interested to this particular sport which was mainly played in Asia.
After learning the rules and regulations of the game, Acuna started looking for players to get kabaddi underway in Argentina soon after the turn of the millennium.
“I selected only rugby players at the beginning because they are tough, strong athletes suitable for kabaddi. Later I went for footballers, wrestlers and players from other sports,” said Acuna at National Kabaddi Stadium after completing their first ever training session in Bangladesh Saturday afternoon.
Argentine people were astonished when Acuna presented a new sport in front of them because it required no ball.
“They asked me, where is the ball? No keeper? They were surprised as they have always been used to kicking the ball,” said the Argentina Kabaddi Association chief, who doubles up as the national kabaddi team coach.
Acuna with Maradona in 1994“I remember the first kabaddi match played in Argentina was very tough because there were only wrestlers and rugby players,” added the 55-year old.
When the first kabaddi tournament took place in Argentina two decades ago, there were four teams but currently the number is six.
The clubs are named after different animals and chief among them is Yarara, a species of snake.
“Now there are lots of people in Argentina who are interested in kabaddi because this game is wonderful. Around 100 men and 50 women currently play this game,” said Acuna.
Acuna has been president of the kabaddi association since its foundation in 2002.
AKA arrange two kabaddi tournaments every year but there is no league, and also no sponsor.
Most players are physical education teachers who work for different schools and only play for two-three months round the year.
Acuna, who is also a badminton coach, gave an insight on his current travelling players who have been preparing for the Bangabandhu Cup in the last three months.
He said all his players play both kabaddi and football.
Some of the players were seen wearing Argentina football team's jersey during practice.
There are also wrestlers, rugby, taekwondo and badminton players.
When asked why he chose kabaddi, Argentina captain Rafael Acevedo replied, “I saw kabaddi in the television first. I loved the game so much. I used to practice lots of sports and kabaddi was too fine to me.”
He also said he already felt the emotions of Bangladeshi people's love for Argentina especially for their football team.
Bangladesh and Argentina faced off only once previously in kabaddi during the 2016 World Cup which was the South American country's first participation at the world event.
Bangladesh won that game but Acuna said it was their best ever performance till date.
After rating Bangabandhu Cup highly ahead of their tournament debut, he informed that kabaddi has also been introduced in Mexico and Colombia in recent years and will begin its journey in Brazil next month.
“Maybe next year, there will be a kabaddi match between Argentina and Brazil,” hoped Acuna during his and Argentina team's first tour in Bangladesh where kabaddi is the national sport.