Deepak Hooda: I need to perform well in upcoming tournaments before Kabaddi World Cup

The all-rounder captained India the last time they played an international game.

Saweety Boora clinched the gold medal in the 81kg weight category at the Women’s World Boxing Championships held in New Delhi, India. Saweety’s husband and star kabaddi player Deepak Hooda was present during the final and cheered throughout the match. He held her up by the shoulders after she defeated the Chinese boxer in a split decision.  

Saweety has been in great form for the past few months. She clinched the gold medal at the Asian Championships and is currently the World Champion in 81kg. Her previous best performance at World Championships was in the 2014 edition where she won the silver medal.

Deepak Niwas Hooda is currently looking forward to playing in the Senior National kabaddi championships which are slated to be held next month. The squad for the Asian Games will be selected after looking at the performances in the Senior Nationals. The former Indian captain did not have a good PKL season 9 (representing Bengal Warriors). This will be the 28-year-old’s golden opportunity to impress the selectors and the PKL clubs and cement his place in the Indian team as an all-rounder.

Khel Now got an opportunity to interact with Deepak Hooda at the finals of the women’s World Boxing Championships. 

Preparations going ahead into the 2023 Asian Games

The 2023 Asian Games is set to be held in September in China. Senior National Championships will be the last opportunity for the players to book their place in the national squad. Currently, it looks like the PKL season will be held only after the Asian Games. 

Deepak Hooda said, “My training is going well but the whole focus now is on Saweety. She became the Asian champions a few months back and is having a great tournament here. We have the Senior National Championships next month and the squad for the Asian Games will be selected based on the performance there.”

Advantages of being a sports couple

“We both understand each other pretty well in the tough phases. In sports, we come across many losses and to get back to form we need good support. As we both are top-level athletes we complement each other well,” he added. 

Helping each other recover from injuries

The former Indian captain iterated, “We have suffered from injuries on multiple occasions. Saweety once travelled along with me to Mumbai for my treatment and even I take care of her. During the injury phase, someone needs to provide support to recover quickly.”

Views on the announcement of the 2024 Kabaddi World Cup

The Kabaddi World Cup is set to be held in 2024. The previous edition was held way back in 2016 in Ahmedabad, India. India has won all three editions of the World Cup defeating Iran (three times in the final)

Deepak Hooda said, “It has been a long wait. The World Cup was set to be held in 2020 but due to the pandemic had to get postponed. Looking forward to the event but before that, I need to perform well in the upcoming tournaments.”