Nova, former Rivalry Esports player

Rahul Dhankhar, who played as Nova and was also known as NovaKing, is a retired Indian BGMI and PUBG Mobile player whose career stretched from the game's first Indian seasons to a final squad place at BGMS 2022. Sportskeeda's full squads reveal for that Masters Series named him in the Rivalry Esports lineup alongside Sangwan, Smxkie, Slayer and Admino, and Liquipedia's own transfer record dates that Rivalry stint from 24 June to 31 July 2022. His listed career winnings on Liquipedia come to $4,597.

His earliest recorded teams date to the PUBG Mobile era. Liquipedia's history lists TeamIND in 2018, where he placed 16th at the PUBG Mobile Star Challenge 2018 Asia finals, then The Dreamers, The Brawlers and ETG.Brawlers across 2019. The results followed the same path: 18th at the PUBG Mobile India Series 2019 with The Dreamers, 15th at the Club Open 2019 Spring Split India with The Brawlers, and his strongest early finish, seventh at the Club Open 2019 Fall Split South Asia with ETG.Brawlers, a run worth $7,600 to the side. He closed that year with 13th place at the PUBG Mobile All Stars India 2019.

Power House carried his 2020 season, and the side finished 16th at the PUBG Mobile Pro League South Asia Season 1 for $4,250. He joined Element Esports on 7 July 2020 and placed second at the Sanjivani Invitational later that month. The Element months also made him a familiar interview subject: Ocean Sharma spoke to him in June 2020, and Sportskeeda profiled him in September 2020, when he discussed his favourite teammate and his time around the Element and SynerGE scene. From January 2021 his listed roles turned to content creation, first with Galaxy Racer and then, from 4 September 2021, with GodLike Esports, where the engagement ran until 5 June 2023.

Playing highlights still arrived during those creator years. He won the iQOO All Stars Cup in August 2021 with OR Esports, a title worth $4,112, and finished second at The Launch Party showmatch with Team Kronten a month earlier. The Rivalry Esports call-up for BGMS 2022, where the side placed 18th, stands as his last verified playing appearance, and Liquipedia lists his status as retired.

Plenty about Nova was never published. No source checked gives his birth date or a formal in-game role, and no official career statistics aggregate exists for him. What survives is a documented five-year trail through eight organisations, one cup title, and a place in one of the most covered squad announcements of the 2022 season.