The second edition of the Khelo India University Games was successfully held at Jain University in Bengaluru. The final event of Kabaddi was spectated by the Pro Kabaddi stars Ajay Thakur, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat and Naveen Kumar Goyat after receiving a special invitation from the country’s Sports Minister Mr Anurag Thakur. While the coaching and scouting staff of PKL franchises also had their eyes on the event in search of the stars of tomorrow.
Khelo India Youth Games are also around the corner as Haryana’s Panchkula is gearing up to host the prestigious event. KIUG and KIYG, both events are historic initiatives by the Indian government which are turning out to be fruitful for Indian Sports and Kabaddi as well. Undoubtedly, Kabaddi has been one of the main beneficiaries of Khelo India as it gave a solid grassroots base to the game.
Khelo India Games provide a huge platform for the budding stars of tomorrow and always catch the eyes of the PKL franchisees who are always keen to add these youngsters to their ranks. We have seen many Kabaddi players who came through the ranks of Khelo India and went on to rock the Pro Kabaddi League stage. Hence Parimatch News brings you the Top 5 PKL stars who emerged from the Khelo India system.
5. Rohit Tomar (Uttar Pradesh – U.P. Yoddha)
Rohit was part of the Uttar Pradesh Under-21 state team that reached the semifinal stages of the Khelo India Youth Games 2020 edition. He was the lead raider of his side which was knocked by Maharashtra in the penultimate stage of the contest by 59-23 in a one-sided saga. Rohit garnered fame and interest from the PKL franchises with his heroic style of play and sublime raiding skills.
When the most-awaited PKL Season 8 began, Rohit’s services were acquired by his home side UP Yoddha as a through New Young Player (NYP) category. The raiding department of UP Yoddha was already accommodating big names like Pardeep Narwal, Shrikant Jadhav and Surinder Gill hence it was a tough task for the local youngster to make it to the Starting Seven. Although he was able to impress the Yoddhas head coach Jasveer Singh which will benefit him a lot as a bright PKL career awaits him.
4. V Ajith Kumar (Tamil Nadu – U Mumba)
The Gentle Giant of U Mumba paved his way to the Pro Kabaddi League through his heroics at the Khelo India Youth Games. He was part of the Tamil Nadu Under-21 side that came very close to the Gold medal in the 2019 Pune edition and eventually lost the final on Golden Raid. Ajith formed a deadly raiding duo with Radhakrishnan in that tournament and went on to become the most successful player from that Tamil batch of U-21 Boys.
Ajith made his PKL debut with his local franchise Tamil Thalaivas in the same year and became one of the most emerging players in Season Seven.
In the following season, he joined the Maharashtrian outfit, U Mumba at the auction price of 25 Lakhs and truly lived up to the expectations of management and authorities. His partnership with Abhishek Singh was one of the highlights of Mumba’s season eight campaign as Ajith also crossed the mark of 150 PKL raid points for the first time in his career.
3. Shubham Shinde (Maharashtra – Patna Pirates)
Shubham Shinde is a born leader!
Shubham is one of those few Kabaddi players who have won medals with his State team in Khelo India Youth Games (Silver), Junior Nationals (Bronze) and Senior Nationals (Bronze) as well. He was the leading defender of the Maharashtra Under-21 team that toured KIYG Guwahati in 2020 and held the right corner position in the Silver-winning triumph. At that time, Shubham was already part of the Puneri Paltan side and his Khelo India heroics upraised his status in the domestic circuit of Maharashtra Kabaddi.
In the presence of proven leaders like Rishank Devadiga, Girish Ernak, Siddharth Desai, Nilesh Salunke etc. the young Ratnagiri defender was given the opportunity to lead the star-studded roster. He led Maharashtra to the Bronze medal finish in the 68th Senior Nationals and also was regular captain of Yuva Paltan’s side before bowing out of the franchise ahead of Season 8.
Shubham was used as second-choice right-corner in the presence of the veteran Sunil Narwal and still, the Maharashtrian stalwart abided the role perfectly and contributed 17 tackle points including a High 5 in the runners-up campaign of the Pirates.
2. Saurabh Nandal (Haryana – Bengaluru Bulls)
Whether it’s Pro Kabaddi League or Khelo India or University Nationals, the stalwart defender has rocked every stage of Kabaddi he graced to. His inclusion in the Haryana Under-21 was a special one as he was coming with experience of playing on the PKL stage and being among the Top 12 highest-scoring defenders in his debut season. Saurabh led his homeland to glory as they defeated the traditional rivals Maharashtra by 41-27 in the Grand Finale to bag the Gold medal under his captaincy.
When the caravan of Pro Kabaddi returned after the Covid halt, Nandal was back with the Bulls with a pivotal role in the defensive line of the Sixth edition champions. It was a forgettable season defensively for the gaffer Randhir Singh Sehrawat, as all his conservators were pretty inconsistent except Saurabh Nandal who touched new individual heights with the Red and Blacks. His individual tackle points tally of 69 tackle points was the third-highest among all Season 8 defenders as he also became
1. Aslam Inamdar (Maharashtra – Puneri Paltan)
Aslam Inamdar posing with his Silver medal alongside Maharashtra U-21 and Yuva Paltan best-mates, Ajay Patil and Raju Kathore
Aslam Inamdar is the brightest talent of Maharashtra’s golden batch which toured Guwahati, Assam for the Khelo India Youth Games in 2020. He played a pivotal role in the Silver medal-winning campaign of Maharashtra Under-21 with his raiding prowess. Aslam joined the hands with raiding spearheads Pankaj Mohite and captain Sourabh Patil to form the most fierce offensive unit of that national event.
The heroics with the State team quickly caught the eyes of the Puneri Paltan franchise as he then represented the youth side Yuva Paltan for the next couple of years. In the presence of high-profile raiders like Rahul Chaudhari and Nitin Tomar, it’s quite an achievement for the debutant to become the top scorer and lead raider of the franchise.
The 23-year-old raiding all-rounder has scored 169 raid points and 20 tackle points including 5 Super 10s and a whopping 7 Super Raids from 23 appearances of the PKL Season 8. The high-flying raiding skills, ease of scoring multi-point raids and classy ankle holds at the in-position suggest that Aslam is here to carry forward the legacy of legendary Rakesh Kumar. The Takhlibhan-born raider is yet to represent his State Senior Team but has somehow made it to the list of 24 core-probable players of the Indian National Team for the 19th Asian Games.
Aslam is currently training with the Indian set-up at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi along with three other Maharashtrian players and is aiming for nothing less than a place in the final list.