Kolkata : Former Indian legend and captain Ajay Thakur has announced retirement from Kabaddi.
Thakur, who is in Melbourne for a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) event, playing for PKL All Star Masters, made the decision public through a social media post: “Retire from international Kabaddi – last match 28 December at Melbourne, Australia.”
Legendary Thakur, considered as one of the greatest raiders in the World, is 2 times Asian Gold Medalist, 2016 Kabaddi World Cup winner, 2017 Asian Kabaddi Championship winner, 2018 Dubai Kabaddi Masters Winner, 2 times Asian Indoor Games winner. He also received Padmashri & Arjuna Award in 2019.
Hailing from Dhabota village near Nalagarh in Solan district, Thakur rose to ranks when he won the gold with the Indian team at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games. He cemented his place in the national team and was a key contributor to India’s success at the 2014 Asian Games.
Thakur’s most outstanding performance came at the Kabaddi World Cup in 2016, scoring a 4-point raid to take India to the lead. He was the Man of the Tournament in Kabaddi World Cup 2016, which India won. Thakur ended up as the top raider of the tournament with 68 points, making a decisive impact in the final. He led India to victory at the Asian Kabaddi Championship in 2017.
The 38 years old has also scored 816 raid points in Pro Kabaddi League career.
At present he has taken coaching role and served as Assistant coach of Puneri Paltans in Pro Kabaddi 2024.
With this, Thakur drew curtains to an illustrious and iconic career, going down as one of the greatest legend that the game has ever witnessed.
