Ajay Thakur was born on 1 May 1986 in Dabhota village of Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh. Ajay Thakur is an Indian professional Kabaddi player. And is the former captain of the Indian National Kabaddi team. He is one of the “Best Indian Raiders” of all time which is a huge achievement for a player. He was the star player and “Man of the Tournament” in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup due to his outstanding performance. Thakur was awarded the Arjuna Award and Padma Shri in 2019. He was part of the gold medal-winning national teams at the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup and the 2014 Asian Games.
Ajay Thakur Early Life and Personal Life
His father’s name is Chhotu Ram ji and his mother’s name is Rajinder Kaur. He did his early education in Nalagarh only. His father is a retired police officer, and his mother was a homemaker and teacher. His father Chhotu Ram was very good in other sports including wrestling and kabaddi. Hence, from a very young age, Ajay developed a keen interest in Kabaddi and started playing at the age of 10. Even though he belonged to a family of low economic background, both his parents were very supportive and encouraged him when he started playing Kabaddi. Ajay was inspired by his cousin Rakesh Thakur. Rakesh Thakur has represented India in Kabaddi at the international level. he is married to Sandeep Rana. Ajay Thakur has opened a sports academy in his village where he gives free training to children. He keeps motivating people to promote sports.
Career
Ajay Thakur is working on the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police in Himachal Pradesh. Ajay Thakur is known as one of the best Indian raiders. He represented his employer Air India in the Industrial National Championship. In the Kabaddi World Cup 2016, he was the No. 1 raider with the most raid points and Ajay was the overall highest point scorer with 68 points. India was on the verge of defeat while playing against Iran in the final of the Kabaddi World Cup 2016. And everyone’s eyes were fixed on Ajay Thakur. In such a situation, Ajay raided 4 points to give India an edge. He was also the man of the tournament in the Kabaddi World Cup 2016.
In Pro Kabaddi League Season 1, Ajay Thakur played 15 matches for Bengaluru Bulls and scored 5 tackle points along with 122 raid points. Season 2 also played for Bengaluru Bulls. In season 3 Ajay played for Puneri Paltan in which he played 14 matches and scored 4 tackle points along with 52 raid points. And Season 4 also played for Puneri Paltan and played 16 matches having 1 tackle point with 63 raid points. In season 5 played for Tamil Thalaivas in which he played 22 matches scoring 213 raid points and 9 tackle points. Season 6 was also played for Tamil Thalaivas in which he played 22 matches and scored 203 raid points as well as 1 tackle point. And in season 7, Ajay Thakur played 13 matches for Tamil Thalaivas and scored 58 raid points.
Achievements
Awarded a gold medal in Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Kabaddi in 2013. Awarded Gold Medal in Kabaddi at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games. And 2014 Asian Games – Awarded Gold Medal. Awarded Gold Medal in Asian Kabaddi Championship 2017. World Cup 2016 Ahmedabad, India – Gold Medal. Asian Games 2018 Jakarta, Indonesia – Awarded Bronze Medal. Honored with the 2019 Padma Shri Award. Ajay Thakur has been awarded the Arjuna Award in 2019.
