Kabaddi

Raider who holds the Pro Kabaddi League record for career raid points; Asian Games gold medallist in 2018.

Abhilasha Mhatre is an Indian professional kabaddi player and was the Captain of Indian National Women's Kabaddi Team. She has won the Arjuna Award of Government of India in 2015. Known for her elegant footwork she is regarded as one of the finest kabaddi players in India.

Ajay Thakur (born 1 May 1987) is an Indian former professional kabaddi player and the former captain of the India national kabaddi team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He was part of the national teams which won 2016 Kabaddi World Cup and gold medal at 2014 Asian Games.

Anup Kumar is an Indian former professional Kabaddi player and Kabaddi Coach of PKL Team Patna Pirates . 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.

Balwinder Singh, also known as Fidda or Fiddu, is an Indian professional Kabaddi player who received Arjuna Award in 1999 for his performances. He was born on 23 March 1956 to Charan Kaur and Sardar Banta Singh in village Tandi, District Kapurthala. In 1989, he captained the Indian Kabaddi team in South Asian Federation Games in Islamabad where their team secured first position, and he was declared the best player of SAFG.

Bhavna Devi Thakur (16 January 1999) is an Indian kabaddi player from Himachal Pradesh. She plays for the Indian women's national kabaddi team and for Himachal Pradesh in domestic tournaments. She is a right cover defender.

Deepak Ram Niwas Hooda (born 10 June 1994) is an Indian professional Kabaddi player and the former captain of India national kabaddi team. He was part of the Indian team which won gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games. He has also featured in all the seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League.

Dhanalakshmi Poojary (born 2004) is an Indian kabaddi player from Karnataka. She plays for the Indian women's national kabaddi team and for Karnataka in the domestic tournaments. She is an allrounder.

Dharmaraj Cheralathan (born 21 April 1975) is an Indian Kabaddi player who currently represents Tamil Thalaivas in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi league. He was a member of the Indian Kabaddi team that won gold at the Kabaddi World Cup in 2016. Nicknamed “Anna”, Cheralathan led Patna Pirates to the Pro Kabaddi league in Season 4.

Gurjeet Singh Toot (1980 or 1981 – 11 August 2026) was an Indian international circle kabaddi player who played as a raider. He competed in tournaments in England and Canada, winning the "Best Raider" award in England in 2005 and at the Canada Cup in 2007.

Gurpreet Singh born 29 October 1979 is representative for India in the sport of Kabaddi. He was a member of the kabaddi team that won a gold medal in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

Hardeep Tauo Toganwalia (born 6 April 1984) is a professional kabaddi player. He plays as a stopper in circle style kabaddi. 91 m) tall and weighs 108 kg (238 lb).

Harjeet Singh Brar also known as Bajakhana (5 September 1971 – 16 April 1998) was a professional kabaddi player. He was a Raider in circle style kabaddi. Harjeet Brar was born in Bajakhana village in Faridkot, Punjab.

Jagdeep Singh born 10 August 1980 is representative for India in the sport of Kabaddi. He was a member of the kabaddi team that won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian games in Guangzhou.

Jasmer born 7 May 1983 is representative for India in the sport of Kabaddi. He was a member of the kabaddi team that won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian games in Guangzhou.

Jasmer Singh Gulia (born 18 March 1987) is representative for India in the sport of Kabaddi. He was a member of the kabaddi team that won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian games in Guangzhou.

Jasvir Singh (born 4 April 1984) is an Indian professional Kabaddi player. He was a member of the India national kabaddi team that won Asian Games Gold medal in 2014 and World Cup in 2016. He hails from Panipat and serves in the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

Jeeva Kumar Sivachandraswaran (born 1 June 1971) is representative for India in the sport of Kabaddi. He was a member of the Kabaddi team that won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.

K. Prapanjan is a professional Indian Kabaddi player. He played for Tamil Thalaivas as a raider in Season 8 of Pro Kabaddi League.

R. Karthika (born c. 2008) is an Indian kabaddi player from Kannagi Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She is best known for captaining and later serving as vice-captain of India's under-18 girls’ kabaddi team, which won the gold medal at the 2025 Asian Youth Games in Bahrain, where the team defeated Iran 75–21 in the final. Coming from a working-class community, she is widely regarded as a symbol of sports-driven upliftment for girls from under-privileged urban areas.

K. Baskaran or Baskaran Kasinathan (born 28 June 1968) is a professional Indian Kabaddi sportsman who has represented Indian National Men's Kabaddi team in International games and is mentoring as a Kabaddi Coach. He has won national as well as international medals. He has been a professional coach for International teams and Kabaddi League franchises.

Kavita born 12 December 1987 is representative for India in the sport of Kabaddi. She was a member of the team that won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian games in Guangzhou.

Kavita Thakur born 10 january 1993 is representative for India in the sport of Kabaddi from Jagatsukh, Manali, Himachal Pradesh. She was a member of the team that won a gold medal in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

Kavita Devi (born 10 August 1990) is an Indian professional kabaddi player. She was a member of the India national kabaddi team that won Asian gold medals in 2014 in Incheon.

Kavitha Selvaraj is an Indian kabaddi player. She was a member of the team that won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian games in Guangzhou.

Mamatha Poojary (born 1986) is an Indian professional international kabaddi player. She is the former captain of the Indian women's Kabaddi team and has been awarded the Rajyotsava Prashasti, the second-highest award of the Government of Karnataka. On 2 September 2014, she was conferred with the Arjuna Award by President Pranab Mukherjee in recognition of her achievements in Kabaddi.

Manisha (born 26 January 1991) is representative for India in the sport of Kabaddi. She was a member of the kabaddi team that won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian games in Guangzhou.

Manjeet Chhillar (born 18 August 1986) is an Indian former professional kabaddi player who currently serves as the assistant coach of the Telugu Titans. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest kabaddi players of all time. During his professional career, he played for the Indian national team and won a gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games and 2014 Asian Indoor Games in Incheon.

Mohit Chhillar (born 13 July 1993) is an Indian kabaddi player who currently plays for Tamil Thalaivas in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League. He hails from Nizampur, Delhi and has been one of India's best defenders for the past decade. He is a versatile defender who can complement other corner defenders and form successful partnerships.

Naib Subedar Monu Goyat is an Indian kabaddi player and an Indian Army Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO). He was part of the India national kabaddi team that won a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games. He will play for Patna Pirates again in the Pro Kabaddi League 2021 starting from 22 Dec.

Muskan Malik (ᱢᱩᱥᱠᱟᱱ ᱢᱚᱞᱤᱠ, born 8 December 2000) is an Indian kabaddi player. She was a part of the team that won the gold medal in the 2022 Asian Games.

Nitesh Kumar (born 12 August 1997) is an Indian kabaddi player who currently plays for Bengal Warriorz in Pro Kabaddi League. Kumar was picked up by Yoddha in the season 5 auction. In season 6, he became the first player in the league history to score 100 tackle points in a single campaign.

Nitin Govardhan Ghule (Marathi:नितीन घुले) (born 20 May 1986) is an Indian Kabaddi Player. He is a gold medalist in the Guangzhou Asian Games, 2010. He started to play with Adinath Sports club, Bopkhel, Pune since childhood.

Parveen Kumar (born 7 May 1983) is representative for India in the sport of Kabaddi. He was a member of the kabaddi team that won a gold medal in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

Pawan Sehrawat (born 9 July 1996) is an Indian kabaddi player. He plays for Telugu Titans in the Pro Kabaddi League. 26 crores for the ninth season.

PO Surjeet Singh (born 10 August 1990) is an Indian professional kabaddi player currently playing for Dabang Delhi K.C. in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League. He plays in the Right Cover position. He specializes in blocking and dashing his opponents out of the mat.

Pooja Hathwala is an Indian kabaddi player. She was part of the team that won the gold medal in the 2022 Asian Games.

Pooja Sharma born 15 December 1984 is representative for India in the sport of Kabaddi. She was a member of the kabaddi team that won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian games in Guangzhou.

Rahul Chaudhari (born 16 June 1993) is an Indian Kabaddi player, who has played as a defender and later became a magnificent raider. He was the first player ever to score 500, 700 and 800 raid points in Pro Kabaddi League. He was a member of the Indian National Kabaddi team that won a gold medal in the 2016 South Asian Games.

Rajaguru Subramanian he is Tamil Nadu born Kabaddi player, born 22 June 1987 is representative for India in the sport of Kabaddi. He has also played in Pkl (Pro Kabaddi League) In season 6 for U Mumba, now he is promoted by u mumba as a head coach now he is the new coach for u mumba to pro kabaddi season 8.

Rajesh Narwal is an Indian Kabaddi player.

Raju Bhavsar is a former Indian kabaddi player. He has played for national kabaddi team and represented in international tournaments for almost eight years.

Rakesh Kumar (born 15 April 1983) is a former Indian professional Kabaddi player and Coach. He was the vice-captain of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 2007 World Cup at Panvel, India. In 2011, in recognition of his achievements in the sport, he was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India.

Ramesh Kumar is an Indian professional Kabaddi player. He was part of the teams which won gold medal at 2002 Asian Games, 2006 Asian Games, and the 2004 Kabaddi World Cup. In 2005, government of India conferred Arjuna Award on him for his achievements in the sport.

Sachin Tanwar (born 19 July 1999) is an Indian kabaddi player who played for the Patna Pirates till 2023-24 and currently plays in Tamil Thalaivas since 2024 in the Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian national team. He was among the top 10 raid point scorers in the league in his first two seasons. He made his debut for the Indian kabaddi team in 2017.

On 8 September 2026 the Maharashtra Cabinet approved a revised policy for the 5 per cent parallel reservation for meritorious sportspersons in direct recruitment in state government and semi-government bodies. Sports included in at least three consecutive Summer Olympic Games after 2005 qualify, and Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Chess, Mallakhamb and Cricket have been added as regional sports. Under the revised policy, sports certificates must be verified through a digital Sports E-Certificate system within three months, and earlier government resolutions on the quota were rescinded.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), a Government of India enterprise, gives monthly scholarships to economically weaker young sportspersons who have the potential to excel in sport, in games including badminton, boxing, wrestling, kabaddi, chess, athletics and para sports. This is a public-sector company scheme, not a government department scheme. A scholarship is awarded for one year and can be extended up to two years based on annual performance. The number of scholarships is fixed game by game; for the 2025-26 round, for example, badminton had 6 (3 for men and 3 for women) and kabaddi had 20.

NHPC Limited, a Government of India enterprise, offers a sports scholarship to promising young players aged 14 to 19 years (14 to 24 years for para sports) in 16 games, to encourage their talent and build a talent pool during their formative years of education. This is a public-sector company scheme, not a government department scheme. Up to 32 scholarships are provided, two in each game, in two categories, Elite Scholar and Scholar, for a period of three years.

A flagship annual multi-disciplinary grassroots event held to identify and nurture young sporting talent at the school and college level across India.

Under instructions of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), central government ministries and departments can directly recruit meritorious sportspersons to Group C posts (including erstwhile Group D) that are filled by direct recruitment, in relaxation of the normal recruitment procedure. The list of qualifying sports has 65 disciplines (63 listed in 2020, with Tennis Ball Cricket added in January 2021 and Yogasana in June 2022). Kudo, Karate, Taekwondo, Golf, Judo, Boxing, Wrestling, Badminton, Cricket and Tennis are among them. Railways and a few scientific and atomic-energy services follow separate rules.

A scheme to support traditional Akharas by providing modern wrestling mats and fitness equipment to transform them into formal training units.