Rakesh Kumar (born 15 April 1983) is a former Indian professional

Kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...

player and Coach of

Haryana Steelers Haryana Steelers is a professional kabaddi team based in Haryana that plays in the Pro Kabaddi League. The team is led by Jaideep Dahiya and coached by Manpreet Singh. It is owned by JSW Sports, of the JSW Group. The home matches are played at ...

. He was the vice-captain of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 2007 World Cup at

Panvel Panvel () is a city and taluka in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is highly populated due to its closeness to Mumbai. Panvel is also governed for development purpose by the body of Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Panvel Municipal C ...

, India. In 2011, in recognition of his achievements in the sport, he was awarded the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Early life

Rakesh Kumar was born on 15 April 1983, in the Nizampur village of

North West Delhi North West Delhi is an administrative district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India. Geography North West Delhi is bounded by the Yamuna River on the northeast, and by the districts of North Delhi to the east and southeast, Wes ...

. He took up Kabaddi in 1997 during his school days. After having played for his school team, he represented

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

at the national level, before making it to the senior national team in 2003.

Career

Rakesh Kumar made his debut for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

in 2003. In addition to winning medals at the national level, he was a part of the national team that won gold medals at the World Cups in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. With the team, he also won gold medals at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

South Asian Games The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, N ...

and

, and the

Asian Indoor Games The Asian Indoor Games were a multi-sport event that was contested every two years among athletes representing countries from Asia. The games were regulated by the Olympic Council of Asia. The first games were held in 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand. ...

in 2007, 2009 and 2013.

Pro Kabaddi League

At the auction of the inaugural season of the

Pro Kabaddi League The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) is an Indian professional Kabaddi league for men. It premiered in 2014 and airs on Star Sports. It is the most popular kabaddi league in the world and the third most watched sports league in India after the India ...

, Kumar was the recipient of the highest bid, having been bought for by the

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

franchise, the team later named

Patna Pirates Patna Pirates (PTP) is a professional kabaddi team based in Patna, Bihar, that plays in the Pro Kabaddi League. The team is led by Ankit Jaglan and coached by Anup Kumar (kabaddi). Their home ground is the Patliputra Sports Complex. The Pirate ...

. He was made the captain of the team who led the team to a third-place finish in the 2014 season. He was signed by

U Mumba U Mumba is a professional kabaddi team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that plays in the Pro Kabaddi League. The franchise is currently led by Sunil Kumar, and coached by Anil Chaprana and Gholamreza Mazandarani. The team is owned by Unilazer V ...

for the 2016 season. Then for the 2017 season, he was swapped to

Telugu Titans Telugu Titans is a professional kabaddi team based in Hyderabad, Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Decca ...

. Currently, he is the head coach of the

References

External links

Rakesh Kumar profile at ProKabaddi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Rakesh Living people Indian male kabaddi players Sportspeople from Delhi People from North West Delhi district 1982 births Asian Games gold medalists in kabaddi Kabaddi players at the 2006 Asian Games Kabaddi players at the 2010 Asian Games Kabaddi players at the 2014 Asian Games Pro Kabaddi League players Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games kabaddi players for India Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in kabaddi Recipients of the Arjuna Award Contestants on Indian game shows Participants in Indian reality television series