Shridhar Kadam has emerged as a new star of the Gujarat Giants team in Pro Kabaddi 2025. The 19-year-old from Pune made his debut against Puneri Paltan, and he has played seven matches so far, scoring 13 points for the team.Kadam has earned nine raid points and four tackle points already this season. Although he is a specialist raider, Kadam has been quite impressive in the defense as well. He has a fantastic tackle strike rate of 133% in PKL 2025.While Shridhar Kadam has become a popular name in the kabaddi community now, not many fans may know about his journey to the grand stage of PKL 2025. In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Kadam disclosed that he started playing kabaddi when he was in school because his friends forced him to try it. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostAfter some excellent performances in local tournaments, PKL team Gujarat Giants signed Kadam in the NYP category. Surprisingly, Kadam did not tell his family when he signed the contract."I did not tell my family. When I signed the contract, I did not tell my family, I was waiting for the confirmation. Once the team and coach posted on social media that Shridhar Kadam is in the squad, I told everyone, and they were very happy," Kadam said. PKL 2025 is the first grand tournament for 19-year-old Shridhar Kadam. The youngster was a little afraid when he entered the arena for the first time and played kabaddi in front of the huge crowds."I was afraid to go in front of the crowd. The lighting, the stage, everything scared me, but once I performed well, my nerves calmed down," Kadam said. Kadam has a decent raid success rate of 47.36% in seven matches so far. If he continues in the same vein, he can become a big match-winner for the Gujarat Giants in future."My parents have always supported me"- Shridhar Kadam talks about his family's role in his journey to Pro Kabaddi 2025Shridhar Kadam also opened up about his family and how they supported him in his journey. The 19-year-old is the youngest of the three siblings in his house."My parents have always supported me. My father works as a contractor. I have an elder brother. He is in the event management field. I also have an elder sister, and she recently got married," Kadam said. When asked if his parents always supported him in his journey to become a kabaddi player, Kadam responded:"From childhood, I have been playing kabaddi. My family knew that I will make it big in kabaddi. Right now, I am not studying or pursuing any other courses. I am fully focused on kabaddi." View this post on Instagram Instagram PostLastly, the Gujarat Giants raider said that his ultimate goal is to play for the Indian kabaddi team. He signed off by saying:"I am enjoying playing in the Pro Kabaddi League. My goal is to perform well in PKL, to play for Maharashtra and then, my dream is to play for India one day, just like the dream of other young kabaddi players."Gujarat Giants will play their next match against defending champions Haryana Steelers on October 21. The game will begin at 9.30pm IST in Delhi.