Pardeep Narwal alongside these seven stars left out of Indian squad for Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023

Some of these names are quite shocking.

The squad for the 11th Asian Kabaddi Championships has been announced recently. Top Asian sides including Iran and South Korea are set to take part in the competition which will also be a pre-cursor tournament for the Asian Games. Before the selection, there was a national camp held and the players part of the camp were selected based on their performances.

In this article let us discuss the top seven players who missed out on getting selected for the Asian Kabaddi Championships.

7. Rahul Chaudhari

The showman of Indian Kabaddi has missed out on getting selected for the Asian Championships. He was an integral member of the team in the 2016 World Cup and the 2018 Asian Games. His form has taken a hit and has been off-colour for the past few seasons. Rahul was part of the reigning PKL champions, Jaipur Pink Panthers but couldn't play any significant role in the limited opportunities available.

6. Deepak Hooda

Deepak Niwas Hooda an experienced campaigner has led the national team on several occasions in the past. Like Rahul, Deepak started to lose form in the past few seasons. A lot was expected from the all-rounder in the PKL last season but on the contrary, had a below-average season. In his recent interview with Khel Now he said to make a comeback and is practicing hard ahead of the Senior National Championships and the Asian Games.

5. Bharat

Bengaluru Bulls star raider Bharat Hooda had a terrific season scoring 279 raid points in just 23 matches. After playing as a secondary raider to Pawan Sehrawat in his maiden season (PKL 8), Bharat rose to the occasion in his second season ahead of Vikash Kandola. Many people around the kabaddi circuit were expecting Bharat's presence in the national team but unfortunately, the raider wasn't selected this time.

4. Maninder Singh

As per a few reports, the 32-year-old superstar was left out of the squad as he did not make it to the trials due to personal matters. As said before, the squad for the Asian Championships is selected purely on merit (those who attended the trials). Maninder Singh scored 238 raid points last season for Bengal Warriors and ended up inside the top 5 raiders list.

3. Narender Kandola

Narender Kandola took everyone by storm after performing to his best in his debut PKL season for Tamil Thalaivas last year. He took over the mantle of being the primary raider in the absence of Pawan Sehrawat (who missed the entire season due to an injury) and in the process scored 243 raid points (most points scored by any raider for TT in a season). He was also instrumental in the Junior Worlds Championships where India won the gold medal defeating Iran in March earlier this year.

2. Ankush

The debutant from PKL 9, Ankush was the most successful defender scoring 89 tackle points in 24 matches. The left-corner defender led the defence alongside captain Sunil Kumar and Sahul Kumar who formed a trio and led Jaipur Pink Panthers to a title finish. Moreover, Ankush was also part of the World Junior Kabaddi Championships squad.

1. Pardeep Narwal

Record breaker Pardeep Narwal's removal was a major blow to the Kabaddi fans. Apart from scoring the bulk of the points in PKL, Pardeep Narwal was an integral part of the 2018 Asian Masters and the Asian Games 2018. This is also the first time since 2016, Pardeep has been left out of the national team. He was back to his usual best in PKL 9 and was the most successful raider for UP Yoddhas alongside Surender Kumar Gill.