Naveen, Pardeep among 24 probables selected for Asian Games

Many young players have got their maiden call-ups.

The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) has named a list of 24 probables for the Indian Kabaddi Team (Men’s) ahead of the upcoming Asian Games in September. It is headlined by national team regular Pardeel Narwal and Dabang Delhi’s superstar Naveen Kumar.

Pawan Kumar and Arjun Deshwal, who were the top raiders and top point gainers in the last 2021/22 Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season have also been selected. However, there has also been some surprising absentees from the 24-man probables squad list.

Many big names misses out

Patna Pirates raider Guman Singh, who played such an influential role in helping them get to the final, has been left out of the squad. Rahul Chaudhari, an experienced and senior figure in the Indian Kabaddi scene, has also been snubbed by the Kabaddi federation for their Men’s Team probables list.

Rohit Gulia, who performed really well for the Haryana Steelers in the last PKL season has also failed to make the cut for the Asian Games’ Kabaddi team. Surender Gil, who helped UP Yoddha to the eliminators and finished last season’s PKL season with the fifth-highest raid points, has also failed to make the cut.

This 24-man probable list will be cut down to 12 when the final squad for the Men’s Kabaddi team is finalized before the tournament takes place in September. The Asian Games will take place in Hangzhou, China from 10 September-25 September.

The Indian Men’s Kabaddi team heads into the competition as one of the favorites to bag gold in the Kabaddi category. In the 2018 Asian Games, India had qualified for the semi-finals but lost out to eventual gold medal winners Iran. This earned them a lot of criticism as it was considered a big upset at that time.

India had to settle for the bronze medal in the 2018 edition, marking their worst performance in an Asian Games since the Indian Kabaddi team started to participate in it in 1990. There will be a lot of expectations riding on the shoulders of the Kabaddi team this time, hoping to redeem themselves from the last edition and win the gold medal once again.

India’s 24-man probable list for Asian Games 2018:

Abhishek Manokaran

Arjun Deswal

Aslam Inamdar

Deepak Hooda

Girish Ernak

Jaideep

Mahender Singh

Maninder Singh

Mohit Goyat

Naveen Kumar

Nitesh Kumar

Pankaj Mohite

Pardeep

Parvesh

Pawan Kumar

Ravinder Pahal

Sachin

Sagar B Krishan

Shubham

Sunil Kumar

Surjeet

Vijay

Vikash S/o Miyan Singh

Vishal Bhardwaj

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