The men’s Indian kabaddi team for the approaching 11th Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 has been finalised with 14 players, according to the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI). The event is slated to take place from June 27 to June 30 in Busan, South Korea.
Pardeep Narwal, the most prolific raider in the Pro Kabaddi League, and Deepak Niwas Hooda, a former captain of India, were both passed over for the national squad. Arjun Deshwal, the PKL 9 MVP, will be spearheading the attack for the team alongside Naveen Kumar, making his international debut.
The Asian Kabaddi Championship will additionally mark Pawan Sehrawat’s comeback, who will play for the first time after suffering an injury in October 2022.
Along with Aslam Inamdar as well as Mohit Goyat, the raiding group will also include Sachin, the Patna Pirates’ do-or-die specialist.
Sunil Kumar, Nitish Kumar, and seasoned defender Surjeet Singh will be in charge of the Indian team’s defence during the competition. At the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna, Bihar, last week, the team trials for the Asian Championships were held. Some of the famous names who didn’t make the Indian team included Surender Gill, Surender Nada, Girish Maruti Ernak, Siddharth Desai, Maninder Singh, Ravinder Pahal, and Mahender Singh.
Both current Tamil Thalaivas manager Ashan Kumar and PKL 9 champion Jaipur Pink Panthers coach Sanjeev Baliyan have been designated head coaches. Edacherry Bhaskaran, a former national coach, has been named manager.
The Asian Kabaddi Championship has already been held ten times in total. It was originally held in 1980, and the Indian team took first place. Since 1980, there have been eight editions, and the Indian team has won every single one of them. With seven gold medals during the last eight Asian Kabaddi Championships, the Indian men’s kabaddi team has had the most success. The most recent competition took place in Gorgan, Iran, in 2017, when India defeated Pakistan 36–22 to win the title.
Indian kabaddi team: Arjun Deshwal, Naveen Kumar, Sachin, Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat, Sunil Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Nitin Rawal, Nitesh Kumar, Surjeet Singh, Vishal Bhardwaj, Pawan Sehrawat
