PKL 10: Meet Tamil Thalaivas coach Ashan Kumar

Ashan Kumar is all set to coach Tamil Thalaivas for PKL 10 after extending his contract till 2025. Ashan Kumar, who took over as the coach of Tamil Thalaivas in the mid-season last year, was pivotal in the team's first playoff appearance. 

The team had a poor start in PKL 9. Their star raider Pawan Sehrawat was ruled out of the season. In their first six matches, the team managed one win, one draw, and four losses. To make things worse, Udhay Kumar, the coach, left the team due to personal reasons. Ashan Kumar was roped in as the coach in the mid-season.

The team's turnover certainly made him one of the household names in the country as he was appointed as the coach of the Indian Kabaddi Team in January 2023. 

Playing career

Ashan Kumar took up Kabaddi during his school days and represented his school team earlier. 

Notably, he was the captain of the Indian team that won the first gold medal of the sport when it was introduced as a medal event on the Asian Games roster in 1990.

After retirement, the 61-year-old Bhera village, in the Bhiwani district of Haryana, took up coaching. At the 64th Kabaddi Senior Nationals, Ashan Kumar was the coach of the Haryana squad, which advanced to the tournament's semifinals.

Later, he was appointed as the Indian coach in 1998. Under his coaching, India went on to win the gold medal in Bangkok. 

In 2010, he was the coach of the Iran team that competed and won silver at Guangzhou. He certainly was a trailblazer as a coach for Iran. Today, the team has produced several superstars and is one of the arch-rivals of India. Ashan Kumar also went on to coach South Korea in 2018 and then Sri Lanka as well. 

Ashan Kumar also has won several awards from the Government for his contribution to the game. In 1993, he won the Bharat Gaurav Award from the president of the AKFI. The next year, he was awarded the Bhim Award by the Governor of Haryana. In 1999, he received the prestigious Arjuna Award from then-President of India. He is also a Dronacharya awardee and has vast experience in coaching. 

Working with Tamil Thalaivas is not his first stint in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League. Ashan Kumar was the coach of Puneri Paltan in the 6th season. The team finished in the 5th spot on the Zone A points table. They won 8 matches out of 22. 

Ashan Kumar's best performance in the PKL certainly came with Tamil Thalaivas where he helped them to make it to the playoffs for the first time. Thanks to his achievement, the management has signed him as the coach until 2025. This is the longest stint in his coaching career. 

Ashan Kumar has already begun his work for the upcoming season. The Tamil Thalaivas have already conducted trials to pick the youngsters for the team ahead of the auction. He would have had his eyes on youngsters in the Khelo games as well. Ashan Kumar will be keen to rebuild Tamil Thalaivas to help them go further than the semifinal. Notably, Narendra Kandola was scouted by Tamil Thalaivas after his impressive performance at the KIYG held in Haryana, in 2022.

Talking about his coaching in different countries, "My only objective was to spread the sport to other countries and make them good at it," Ashan Kumar told Scroll. "When we talk about Fazel Atrachali (Iran's captain), or some players from South Korea, this was the objective in the first place – to make quality teams abroad to ensure there is competition".

Currently, there is no update regarding the PKL auction for the upcoming year. It will be interesting to see how Ashan Kumar builds his Tamil Thalaivas team this time. Last year, he took over only in the middle, still he was able to bring out the best in the team. This time, he has a full season to do wonders with Tamil Thailavas.