Sunil Kumar (born 12 May 1997) is an Indian
kabaddi player who plays in the
Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as a defender.[1] After winning the Junior Nationals in 2015 and 2016, he was picked up by
Patna Pirates for the PKL season 4.[2] He later transferred to
Jaipur Pink Panthers.[3][4] In 2023, Kumar competed for India at the
2022 Asian Games;[5][6] where the Indian team won gold, controversially defeating Iran 33–29 in the finals.[7][8]
Early life and background
Sunil was born 12 May 1997[9] and hails from a farmer's family in Bhainswal Kalan,
Sonipat District,
Haryana.[2] Many of his cousins including,
Parvesh Bhainswal, used to play kabaddi. Inspired by them, he took to the game at the age of 11 years. He did well at the university games and was spotted by coach Jaivir Sharma and later joined the
Sports Authority of India training centre at
Ahmedabad.[2]