Nitesh Kumar (born 12 August 1997) is an Indian kabaddi player who currently plays for UP Yoddha in Pro Kabaddi League. Kumar was picked up by Yoddha in the season 5 auction. In season 6, he became the first player in the league history to score 100 tackle points in a single campaign.[2] He is part of the Indian team that won gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games.[3] India beat Iran 33-29 in a controversial final.[4]

Nitesh Kumar
Personal information
NationalityIndian
OccupationKabaddi player
Weight74 kg (163 lb)[1]
Sport
SportKabaddi
LeagueVIVO Pro Kabaddi League
TeamU.P. Yoddha
Medal record
Men's Kabaddi
Representing  India
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hangzhou Team

Early life edit

Nitesh pursued a career in kabaddi,was encouraged by his father, who was also a kabaddi player.[2]

Career edit

Pro-Kabaddi league edit

Season 5

Nitesh made his debut for UP Yoddha’s against the Telugu Titans in Hyderabad in season 5 and scored five tackle points in his team’s 31-18 victory.[5] He played 19 games in the season and scored 47 tackle points with four High 5s.

Season 6

Nitish scored 20 tackle points in Yoddha’s first seven matches with the team managing three wins through that spell.[6] The next nine games yielded no wins for the Yoddha, but Nitesh scored 40 tackle points over that period. In the final six games of the campaign, Yoddha won five and tied one and Nitesh scoried 25 tackle points as Yoddha qualified for the playoffs.[6] In the first eliminator against U Mumba, Nitesh scored eight tackle points as the Yoddha beat U Mumba 34-29.[7] He scored three more tackle points in his team’s 45-33 victory over Dabang Delhi in the next eliminator match.[8] In the second qualifier against the Gujarat Giants, Nitesh scored six tackle points to reach 100 tackle points for the season.[9]

Records and achievements edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Nitesh Kumar Pro Kabaddi stats". myKhel. mykhel. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b "FKH Stars: Nitesh Kumar - The first defender to score a hundred tackle points in a single season!". Pro Kabaddi. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Asian Games 2023, Day 14 Live Updates: India win men's kabaddi Gold after controversial finish". India Today. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Asian Games 2023, Day 14 Live Updates: India win men's kabaddi Gold after controversial finish". India Today. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Scorecard, Yoddha vs Titans". Pro Kabaddi. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  6. ^ a b "schedule-fixtures-results". Pro Kabaddi. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Scorecard, Yoddha vs U Mumba". Pro Kabaddi. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Scorecard, Yoddha vs Delhi". Pro Kabaddi. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Scorecard, Giants vs Yoddha". Pro Kabaddi. Retrieved 26 June 2019.