India’s World Cup-winning kabaddi captain Anup Kumar announced his retirement on Wednesday. The legendary kabaddi player made the announcement as his team, Jaipur Pink Panthers played against Gujarat Fortunegiants at Panchkula in the Pro Kabaddi (PKL) 2018. 

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35-year-old Kumar, who began his international career in 2006 at the South Asian Games in Sri Lanka, played for over 15 years leading several teams to victory and became one of the standard bearers of the growth of the sport.

Kumar was part of the Indian team that won gold medals in 2010 and 2014. He also captained the Indian team in 2014 winning the Asian Games in 2014 and the Kabaddi World Cup in 2016. In season 2 of the Pro Kabaddi League, Anup captained U Mumba and led the team to victory. 

Kumar was given the Arjuna Award for his contribution to the sport.

Announcing his retirement, Anup Kumar said, “When I started playing kabaddi, I was invested in the sport because I liked it and it was a great hobby, over the years a hobby became the most important part of my life. The day I took to playing kabaddi professionally, I had one dream, to represent my country and bring back a gold medal, I am one of the few lucky people who had the opportunity to accomplish the most important dream of my life.”

“Today, with the Pro Kabaddi League, the magnitude of the sport has grown leaps and bounds and I could not be happier than to watch and grow and be a part of this journey. This platform is an extremely important aspect of my life and that is why today I use the platform to make this announcement. Coincidentally, today is also the 10th birthday of my son, and that makes this date even more memorable. Going forward, if there is anything I am confident about, it is knowing that I will always want to be connected to the sport,” he added.