Deepak Ram Niwas Hooda (born 10 June 1994) is an Indian professional

Kabaddi Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...

player and the captain of

India national kabaddi team The Indian National Kabaddi Team represents India in international men's kabaddi competitions. The team is by far the most successful national kabaddi side of any country, winning gold medals at the Asian Games in 1990 (the first year the sport ...

.He was part of the Indian team which won gold medal at the

2016 South Asian Games The 2016 South Asian Games, officially the XII South Asian Games, is a major multi-sport event which took place from 5 February to 16 February 2016 in Guwahati and Shillong, India. A total of 2,672 athletes competed in 226 events over 22 sports ...

. He has also featured in all the seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League. Deepak is regarded as one of the best all rounder in the Pro kabaddi league history.

Early life

Hooda was born in a farming family in the Chamaria Village of the

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

's Rohtak district. He lost his mother when he was four year old. He started playing

kabaddi Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...

in his village in 2009. He was studying in the

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

when his father, Ram Nivas, demised in the 2013, which made him the sole breadwinner. Due to that, he had to leave his studies and become a part-time teacher. For the next two years, after completing his job at the school, he would go to other villages to practice

, which helped him improve his game immensely. He then pursued his

graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

. There, he played at the All-India University tournament and won a gold medal. After that, he left his studies once again to pursue a career in

Career

Hooda was part of the Haryana team that bagged gold at the Senior National level tournament in

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

in the year 2014. He made his debut for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

at the

, where his team won a gold medal.

Pro Kabaddi League

At the auction of the inaugural season of the Pro Kabaddi League in 2014, Hooda was a recipient of the second highest bid, having been bought for ₹12.6

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...

by the

Telugu Titans Telugu Titans is a Kabaddi team based in Vishakapatnam and Hyderabad that plays in the Pro Kabaddi League. Telugu Titans is a franchise of Veera Sports owned by Mr. Srinivas Sreeramaneni of Vaya Group, of NED Group and Mr. Mahesh Kolli of Green ...

. In 2016, after remaining part of the

for the first two seasons, Hooda joined the

Puneri Paltan Puneri Paltan is a kabaddi team which represents the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India in the Pro Kabaddi League. The team, coached by BC Ramesh, plays at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex. Puneri Paltan, a founding member of the Pro Kab ...

for the third and fourth seasons. In the third place play-off, Hooda top-scored with nine raid points for the

, helping them to make a podium finish in the third season.

Personal life

On 7 July 2022, Hooda married boxer Saweety Boora

References

External links

Profile
at the Pro Kabaddi League {{DEFAULTSORT:Hooda, Deepak Niwas Living people 1994 births Indian kabaddi players Pro Kabaddi League players Kabaddi players from Haryana People from Rohtak district Kabaddi players at the 2018 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for India Asian Games medalists in kabaddi South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in kabaddi Recipients of the Arjuna Award