Surender Nada became a familiar name in the world of Kabaddi after a terrific first season of Pro Kabaddi with U Mumba in 2014. Known for his powerful ankle holds, Nada rose to become one of the top defenders in the sport. However, the Patna Pirates' lead defender was not able to play for his team during the last season of PKL due to an injury. Let us get to know some facts about Nada as he celebrates his 32nd birthday.

1. Surender was born on 1st July 1987 in Arhi village of Jhajjar district in Haryana. His family was known for practicing Kabaddi among other sports. His father had made a name for himself as a wrestler and Kabaddi player, and it was obvious that Surender would follow the same path.

2. With the help of his elder brother, Surender started his training in wrestling and also played Kabaddi on a local level. He was then sent to Sports Authority of India, Sonipat to train in wrestling and Kabaddi along with his brother in 2006. Having trained for three years, he got a chance to play in the national tournaments in Kabaddi thus leaving wrestling behind.

3. Nada was spotted by the then coach of U Mumba, Ravi Shetty, who picked him at the PLK 2014 auctions. He did not disappoint the coach as Surender went on to bag 51 tackle points, the joint-most with Manjeet Chillar in that season.

4. His partnership with Mohit Chillar was the talk of the season, which also followed in PKL 2015 when U Mumba was crowned as the champions of the league. While Mohit scored 42 tackle points that season, Nada was just a point behind with 41 tackle points to his name.

5. After playing three seasons with the Mumbai based team, Nada moved to Bengaluru Bulls in Pro Kabaddi 2016. He had an uninspired season with them as he went on to score just 37 points from 13 matches, although he was on the 13th spot for most tackle points scored.

6. With the introduction of new teams in PKL Season 5, Nada was bought by Haryana Steelers as a priority buys along with his trusted partner Mohit Chillar. Nada finished as the top defender of the season with 80 tackle points to his name from 21 matches. He holds the record for most consecutive High 5s by any player in PKL. He had scored five High 5s in the opening 5 matches of the season and helped the team reach the play-offs.

7. The left corner has been one of those players in the sport whose performance has dipped owing to injury. He could just play one season in PKL 2018 and was ruled out due to an injury to his left hand. After he was bought by Rs. 77 lakh by Patna Pirates ahead of PKL 7, Nada was deemed unfit by doctors and was replaced by Monu Goyat, thus missing the entire season. However, he still remains one of the top defenders of the league with 222 tackle points from just 71 matches.

8. Owing to his performance for U Mumba in PKL, Nada was selected to be a part of the 2016 Asian Games. He won a gold medal in his debut tournament, and then was also a part of the Indian men's Kabaddi team for the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. He scored three High 5s for India and was a major contributor in India's title victory.

9. Nada is also a gold medalist at the Asian Kabaddi Championships 2017, Kabaddi Masters 2018, and South Asian Games 2019. Interestingly, Nada made a comeback in 2019 after a hiatus of more than a year and put out a superb performance for the team.

10. Surender works for CISF and plays Kabaddi for them in the national circuit.