Puneri Paltan's decorated raider Nitin Tomar is celebrating his 25th birthday today. Nitin is one of the most prolific Kabaddi players of our country and has made a huge mark since the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. Here are some fun facts to get to know the left raider better:
- Nitin hails from a village called Malkapur in Baghpat district. He was born on the 30th of April 1995, to a family of farmers and wrestlers. His maternal uncles, Ashok and Pralhad Tomar have represented India in International Wrestling events.
- Young Nitin also started practicing wrestling due to the legacy of the sport in his family. He used to play Kabaddi only as a hobby. However, with his improving and consistent performances in the sport, he left wrestling and started focusing only on Kabaddi.
- He was a part of the Indian Kabaddi team that won the Kabaddi World Cup 2016 in Ahmedabad. His Do-Or-Die raid in the Final helped the Indian team go past the Iranian team when they were lagging behind.
- The youngster made his PKL debut during Season 3 of Pro Kabaddi. He played with the Bengal Warriors that year, following which he made a transfer to Puneri Paltan.
- At the PKL Season 5 Auction, Nitin was the most expensive player ever, bought at the price of Rs. 93 lakh. He was bought by the then debutant team, UP Yoddha. Nitin played one season with the team and scored 177 points (167 raid points) to become the highest points scorer for them.
- Nitin was one of the first Indian Kabadi players to have entered the 'crorepati' club at the PKL auctions. He was bought by Puneri Paltan at the PKL Season 6 auctions for Rs. 1.15 crore. He was then retained by them at the next auction for Rs. 1.20 crore. He is looking forward to playing in the next season.
- In his five seasons of Pro Kabaddi, Nitin has scored 442 raid points and 25 tackle points. His not out rate of 82.29 % is one of the highest in the league.
- In the domestic circuit, Nitin has played for Uttar Pradesh in the beginning. After his recruitment with the Navy, the UP boy has been a part of the Services team. Nitin was a part of the Services team at the 67th Senior National Kabaddi Championships earlier this year in Jaipur.
- A complete family man, Nitin is very close to his parents and siblings. When on a break from Kabaddi, Nitin is often seen spending his time at the farms and helping his family. He is also very close to his grandmothers and that can be seen via his Instagram posts with them.
- Nitin loves to watch movies related to sports and says that such movies keep him motivated and encouraged. His favourite movies include Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Dangal, and Chak De India.
