The captain of the Indian men's Kabaddi team, Deepak Niwas Hooda, is celebrating his 26th birthday today. The all-rounder has been in the Indian Kabaddi circuit for many years now and has gone on to become one of the top players in the world. Deepak currently plays for Jaipur Pink Panthers in Pro Kabaddi league and leads the team. Let us know some interesting facts about the do-or-die specialist:
1. Deepak was born in Chamaria village in the Rohtak district of Haryana on 10 June 1994. Born in a family of farmers, he had to go through many hardships as a child, including the loss of his mother when he was four years old.
2. He started to play Kabaddi at the age of 15 while he was still in school. However, while he was studying in 12th class, Deepak lost his father as well, forcing him to take the responsibility of the house. Nonetheless, he continued his Kabaddi practice and started working as a part-time teacher along with working in his farms. During one of the first Kabaddi tournaments he played, Deepak failed to score a single point and was extremely disappointed with his performance.
3. Deepak went on to pursue his graduation and had won a gold medal at the All-India University tournament while representing the Kabaddi team of his college. He also won the gold medal at the Senior National Kabaddi Championships 2014 as a part of the Haryana men's Kabaddi team. He currently plays for the Rajasthan team in the Senior Nationals.
4. Having made a name for himself, Deepak was the second costliest player at the Pro Kabaddi Season 1 Auctions. He was bought by Telugu Titans for a price of Rs. 12.6 lakhs.
5. After playing two seasons with the Titans, Deepak moved to Puneri Paltan and went on to become their lead raider. PKL Season 3 saw him help the Pune team reach the playoffs for the first time and finish in third place. Pro Kabaddi Season 5 saw Deepak top the Do-or-die raid points chart with 46 points in 24 matches.
6. Deepak was bought by Jaipur Pink Panthers in Pro Kabaddi Season 6 and remained the most successful all-rounder of the league for two consecutive seasons. He scored 208 points in PKL 2018 while 158 points in PKL 2019. He is currently the skipper of the team.
7. Deepak was selected to be a part of the Indian men's Kabaddi team during the 2016 South Asian Games. He went on to win a gold medal with the team on his first outing, followed by a successful campaign at the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad. Deepak was also a part of the team for the 2018 Kabaddi Masters as well as a bronze medal winner at the 2018 Asian Games.
8. He was handed the captaincy baton for the 2019 South Asian Games and successfully led the team to a gold medal victory. This was his second gold medal at the tournament and a first as the captain.
Watch how Deepak Niwas Hooda stays fit
9. A huge fitness enthusiast, Deepak is known as one of the fittest Kabaddi players in the world. He considers fitness a top priority and finds new techniques to keep himself fit.
10. Deepak considers his problems as his inspiration. He had said that if there would not have been any problems in his life, he would not have worked much harder to get to the top.
{"preview_thumbnail":"/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/PLCRFWpTrhsim_9bWjx4PH7erD-4-i4lwZ.jpg","video_url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDr4mk04pLs&list=PLCRFWpTrhsim_9bWjx4PH7erD-4-i4lwZ&index=2&t=0s","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":1},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive, autoplaying)."]}
