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Maninder Singh Kabaddi Biography

Maninder Singh Kabaddi Biography

DATE

12 Jun 2021

Maninder Singh Kabaddi Biography

Athletes all across the globe have to go through ups and downs in their lives. A sportsperson may have a rough patch in a career because of poor performances or an injury. A true sportsman is the one who tackles these obstacles and comes back a stronger human being than before. In a physical game like Kabaddi, you tend to fall prey to significant injuries. Here is a story of one such athlete by the name Maninder Singh, who went through a major injury during his prime form and wasn’t able to play the sport for three long years. However, Maninder Singh came back as a better raider than what he was initially.

Details
Full NameManinder Singh
Age29
Sport CategoryKabaddi
Date of Birth1 January 1990
HometownJalandhar, Punjab
CoachJagdish Kumble, Kasinatha Baskaran
Teams Played forIndia, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Bengal Warriors, Punjab Police
Playing PositionRaider

Maninder Singh Kabaddi Biography

Early Life

Maninder Singh Bengal Warriors Kreedon


Maninder Singh was born on 31st January 1990 in Jalandhar, Punjab. His father was a Zamindar and was a big fan of Kabaddi. Maninder started playing Kabaddi in the childhood itself. He represented his school team at inter-school level. Everyone in his school was fascinated by his attacking performance, and hence he gained a lot of popularity in a lot of schools in Jalandhar.

Maninder was selected in the U-19 team of his university. In one of the tournaments, he outperformed his opponents and was one of the most successful raiders in the competition. His attacking style of raiding got acknowledged by a famous Kabaddi coach in Jalandhar by the name Hanumat Singh. Hanumat offered Maninder to train professionally and chose Kabaddi as a career as he had all the potential of representing the Indian team. Maninder Singh started playing Club Kabaddi in Jalandhar and impressed everyone with his skills.

PKL Selection

Jaipur Pink Panthers 2014 KreedonManinder (top row, 2nd from left) beside his coach K Baskaran (top row, 3rd from left) after lifting the PKL Trophy for Jaipur Pink Panthers in 2014 

Hanumat Singh was a very close friend of a top-rated former Indian Kabaddi player. He had mentored the Thailand National Team in 2010 and was going to be the head coach of the PKL franchise Jaipur Pink Panthers in the inaugural season. Hanumat introduced K Baskaran to Maninder in one of the tournaments. Baskaran was so impressed by Maninder that he picked him up in the Pink Panthers’ in the 2014 Auction and wasn’t disappointed at all with his decision.

PKL Career of Maninder Singh

Jaipur Pink Panthers (2014)

Mani Jaipur Pink Panthers Kreedon

Maninder was the most successful raider for Jaipur Pink Panthers in 2014 as he managed to scalp 130 points in just 16 appearances at a raid success percentage of 74.28%! Overall, he was the 3rd best raider in the league in terms of raid points earned. His brilliance on the court helped Jaipur lift their first Pro Kabaddi League title in the same year.

Back Injury for three years

Maininder SIngh Kabaddi Injury Kreedon

The most tough phase for a sportsman is when he is not able to play the game because of an injury. It can make or break you mentally. Although Jaipur won the final match against U-Mumba in 2014, Maninder fell prey to a severe back injury the same game. The damage was so severe that his doctors told him to discontinue Kabaddi for three years. However, Maninder faced this phase of life positively, performed well in the domestic circuit and returned to PKL in season 5 with the same flair and charisma.

Bengal Warriors (2017- Present)

MS KreedOn

In the 2017 season, Bengal Warriors picked Maninder Singh with the hope that he’ll bring similar energy to the team as he did in the maiden season for Pink Panthers. Maninder Singh didn’t disappoint his franchise and became the leading raider for Bengal Warriors in season 6 with 206 points to his name. Currently, he is the skipper of Bengal Warriors and would love to lift the trophy again in 2019.

PKL Statistics

Seasons
Played
Matches
Played
Raid
Points
Super
Raids
Tackle
Points
Super
Tackle
Total
Points
116130371137
521190620192
62220610206
Total595261091535

Indian call-up

Asian Kabaddi Championship 2017 KreedonManinder Singh (3rd from left, bottom row) celebrating India’s gold medal victory against Pakistan in the 2017 Asian Kabaddi Championship in Gorgan, Iran 

In 2017, Maninder’s dream of representing the Indian Kabaddi squad was fulfilled as he got the opportunity to represent India in the 2017 Asian Kabaddi Championship. India went on to win the gold medal in that tournament.

Playing Style of Maninder Singh

Running hand touch kabaddi kreedonRunning hand touch is Mani’s signature move 

Like mentioned earlier, Mani has always had a very attacking approach towards the game. His signature move while raiding is the running hand touch, a move in which a raider uses his pace and agility and rushes towards the defender for a quick touch to his surprise. Maninder has very successfully been able to snatch points away from the opponents in this fashion.

Interesting Facts about Maninder Singh

Maninder Singh Ran SIngh KreedonManinder Singh and Ran Singh have been best friends since their inclusion in the Punjab Kabaddi Team in their early days (credits: PKL)

  • Maninder Singh has the record of being the fastest player to reach 500 points in PKL. It took him only 56 matches to reach this milestone. He was also the quickest to score 400 points.
  • Maninder has the 5th most number of Super 10s in PKL: 23.
  • Bengal Warriors all-rounder Ran Singh is Maninder’s best friend. Both started playing together for Punjab initial days. Both of them were also the part of the winning team of Jaipur Pink Panthers in Season 1.

Maninder Singh Net Worth

Maninder Singh’s income from PKL stands at close to ₹ 1.60 crores. Pink Panthers signed him in the inaugural season. After a 3 year sabbatical, Singh then moved to Bengal Warriors in 2017 for a fee of around ₹ 45.60 lakhs. The deal was then improved to ₹ 57 lakhs per season for 2018 and 2019.