Kabaddi: Arjun Deshwal’s journey as a kabaddi player
Arjun Deshwal is an Indian kabaddi player who has been competing in the Pro Kabaddi League since the sixth season. He played for Jaipur Pink Panthers in season 8 of the Pro Kabaddi League
Pro Kabaddi Jaipur Pink panthers CelebratingEarly Life
Arjun Deshwal was born and raised at the Basera village in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. He loved to play several different sports from an early age. However, he spent most of his time playing cricket. He only developed an interest in kabaddi after being introduced to the spot by his guru.
He said, “I didn’t like playing kabaddi initially and used to go to the ground nearby my house and play cricket there. My guru, who belonged to my family then slowly started working on my kabaddi skills. He was the one who had faith in my abilities and backed me to do well.
Arjun Deshwal went to Roorkee in Uttarakhand for an army trial after turning 18 and was selected under the military quota after impressing everyone with his performance. While serving in the army, he discovered the process of enrolling in the Pro Kabaddi League.
In an interview with Lallantop Sports, Arjun Deshwal said, “No one from my village had earlier featured in Pro Kabaddi. I had earlier represented UP in Senior Nationals, but the job offer by the army is where I came to know about the registration process for the Pro Kabaddi auction.
Entering the world’s biggest league - Pro Kabaddi
Arjun Deshwal finally got a breakthrough in the auction for the sixth season of the Pro Kabaddi League when his services were acquired for INR 8 lakhs by U Mumba. However, he only got to play three matches due to an injury. In the following season, he was retained by U Mumba for INR 18.8 lakhs and caught the attention of pandits with 109 raid points in 19 matches.
The big break
Arjun Deshwal became a household name in 2021 when he became the third most expensive player of the eighth season after being acquired by Jaipur Pink Panthers for INR 96 lakhs. He took the eighth season with a storm with 267 points in 22 matches.
Arjun Deshwal is now in contention for a spot on the national team alongside the top kabaddi players of the country such as Pradeep Narwal, Pawan Sehrawat and Naveen Kumar. Arjun Deshwal will be on track to become PKL’s next star if he keeps up the momentum to give strong performances consistently.