Kabaddi ex-captain Ajay Thakur retires
Ajay Thakur, former captain of the national kabaddi squad, announced his retirement in Melbourne today though a social media post. The player, who shot to prominence during Pro Kabaddi League, wrote, “Retiring from international Kabaddi — last match December 28 at Melbourne, Australia.”
Thakur had led the team to victory at the Asian Kabaddi Championship in 2017. Hailing from Dhabota village in Nalagarh, Thakur made a mark for himself at the international level by winning two Asian Games gold medals. Earlier, the ace raider worked with Indian Airlines and later, joined the Himachal Pradesh Police as DSP in 2017. The 38-year-old was also honoured with the coveted state-level Parshuram Award.
Thakur’s outstanding performance at the Kabaddi World Cup (2016) helped India bag the gold medal. He was the top raider of the world cup where he scored 68 points.
The Padma Shri and Arjuna Award winner has also bagged several gold medals at key tournaments like Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (2013), Asian Indoor Games (2007), Asian Games (2014) and Asian Kabaddi Championship (2017), besides winning the world cup in 2016 and bagging the bronze medal in 2018 Asian Games.
He had sought exemption from the Pro Kabaddi League in 2022. Said to be at loggerheads with the state kabaddi association, he had resigned as captain of the state kabaddi team in 2022.
