Anup Kumar (kabaddi)

Anup Kumar is an Indian former professional Kabaddi player and Kabaddi Coach of PKL Team Puneri Paltan. He was a member of the India national kabaddi team that won Asian gold medals in 2010 and 2014, one South Asian gold medal in 2016 and the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. He was the captain of the Indian National Kabaddi Team. He spent five years with U Mumba and later moved to Jaipur Pink Panthers. In 2012, the Government of India conferred the Arjuna Award on him for his achievements in the sport.[1] He is employed as a Deputy Commissioner of Police in his native State of Haryana.[2] On 19 December 2018, he announced his retirement from kabbadi.[3]

Anup Kumar Yadav
Personal information
BornPalra, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Sport
SportKabaddi
PositionRaider
LeaguePro Kabaddi league
TeamU Mumba 2014-2019 Jaipur Pink Panthers 2019-2020
Medal record
Representing  India
World Cup
Gold medal – first place2016 AhmedabadIndia
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2010 GuangzhouIndia
Gold medal – first place2014 IncheonIndia
South Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2006 ColomboIndia
Gold medal – first place2010 DhakaIndia
Gold medal – first place2016 Guwahati & ShillongIndia
Updated on 11/02/2022.

Early life

Kumar, born and brought up in Palra, Gurgaon, Haryana, is the son of Ransingh Yadav, and Ballo Devi. He started playing Kabaddi as a pastime during his schooldays. In April 2005, he joined CRPF as a constable. He represented India for the first time at the 2006 South Asian Games in Sri Lanka.[2]

Pro Kabaddi League

2014

He was captain of the U Mumba team in the 2014 Pro Kabaddi League. He won the Most Valuable Player award in the first season of the league, leading his team to the finals where they lost to Jaipur Pink Panthers. He scored 155 raid points in 16 matches, to become one of the most successful raider of Pro Kabaddi.[4]

2015

He led U Mumba to their maiden Pro Kabaddi title in 2015 in which he finished the season with 74 raid points. They defeated Bengaluru Bulls in the final.

2016

U Mumba reached the final where they lost against Patna Pirates by a margin of only 2 points. This was the third time when they played the final. A player in his team, Rishank Devadiga, got the award of the most valuable player.

He was retained by U Mumba team. After 3 seasons, the squad of U Mumba was mostly changed but once again with the help of Rakesh Kumar they managed to finish fifth in the season. This was the first season where U Mumba failed to reach the finals.

2017

Anup Kumar was retained by Mumba for the fifth consecutive season. In season 5, he became the first player in Pro Kabaddi to complete 400 raid points.

2018–19

For the sixth season, Anup Kumar was released by his former franchise U Mumba. In the auctions, Abhishek Bachchan owned franchise Jaipur Pink Panthers brought him in the auction for 30 Lakhs INR.

Retierment

On 19 December 2018, he announced his retirement from kabaddi after completing 15 years in the sport.[3]

Coaching

Currently, he is the coach of Puneri Paltan in Pro Kabbadi League Season 7.

International career

He made his International debut in 2006 South Asian Games. Anup Kumar won gold medals at the 2010 Asian Games and the 2014 Asian Games in kabaddi.

He won a gold medal in kabaddi at the 2016 South Asian Games.

He captained the Indian national Kabaddi team and won their record third Kabaddi World Cup in 2016.[5]

Style of play

His main skills are bonus, hand touch and toe touch. Due to his extraordinary skills in earning bonus points, he is famously known as Bonus ka Badshah. He has another nickname 'Captain Cool' due to his brilliant captaincy and sportsmanship. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest captains in Indian Kabaddi history.[6]

Though there was a decline in his performance at the final stages (during his last matches), he continued to influence by his captainship qualities.

Honours and achievements

U Mumba

India

Awards

References
  1. "Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards Announced". Press Information Bureau. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  2. Awasthi, Shailendra (21 August 2015). "Pro Kabaddi League: Anup, the force behind U Mumba". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  3. "Pro Kabaddi 2018: Anup Kumar announces retirement to conclude 15-year-old career". The Indian Express. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  4. "Interview with Anup Kumar: "Pro Kabaddi League has completely changed the sport"". Yahoo! News. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  5. "Pro Kabaddi League 2017: Anup Kumar Dispels Retirement Rumours". News 18. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  6. "He is one of greatest ever, will miss him on the mat, says Abhishek Bachchan on Anup Kumar's return as coach".
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