Quick Facts about Ajay Thakur

Professional Indian kabaddi player Ajay Thakur was the team captain for the Indian National Kabaddi Team before joining Dabang Delhi in the Pro Kabaddi Competition (PKL), a well-liked domestic league.

He is a professional athlete who works for the government as the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) for the Himachal Pradesh Police. One of the top modern kabaddi players, he has helped his country win numerous gold medals and trophies in competitions across the globe, including the Kabaddi World Cup in 2016.

How much is the net worth of Ajay Thakur?

Ajay, one of the most well-known raiders in kabaddi history, makes a respectable living and has a net worth of roughly INR 10-15 crores.His pay in the domestic league has changed throughout the years, to be specific. He received compensation of roughly INR 12 lakhs when he started his career at Bengaluru Bulls.

He received a second season salary offer of INR 15 lakhs. Puneri Paltan purchased him for the third season after two successful seasons with Bengaluru Bulls, paying him INR 20 lakhs. He was paid INR 1 lakh less than the season before, though, because he was a little out of shape in the fourth.

His pay was massively enhanced to roughly 69 lakhs after he was traded to Tamil Thalaivas for the fifth season of the Pakistan Super League. Thakur got paid even more for the sixth season because of how effectively he performed this season. For this season, he received almost 76 lakhs Indian rupees.

Regarding his pay for the seventh PKL season, there is no credible information. But in addition to collecting money from league matches, he also makes some money working as a DSP. During the off-season, Ajay enjoys a comfortable life with his family in his home in Himachal Pradesh.

Young Adulthood, Family, and Education

Ajay was born on May 1, 1986, to working-class parents Chhotu Ram Thakur and Rajinder Kaur in the Himalayan village of Dabhota, Nalagarh, in India. His mother was a homemaker and teacher, and his father is a former police officer. Chhotu Ram, his father, excelled in kabaddi and other sports, including wrestling.

As a result, Ajay showed a strong interest in kabaddi from an early age and began playing at the age of 10. Despite coming from a less affluent home, both of his parents were quite encouraging and supportive of him as he began playing kabaddi.

In addition to doing sports as a child, he excelled in academics. Thakur earned his high school diploma from a government-supported institution close to his village before earning his degree from the Government Post Graduation College in Nalagarh.

After graduating, his mother pushed him to work for the government because she was a teacher. At the time, he had no notion that he could make a career as a kabaddi player, so he had wished for the same thing. The Indian kabaddi star Vijender Singh served as his major source of inspiration.

Another well-known Indian Kabaddi player who played for the Indian National Team and many PKL clubs, including Patna Pirates, U Mumba, etc. is his cousin Rakesh Kumar.

Ajay Thakur’s age, height, and weight

The illustrious kabaddi star is 36 years old. He has accomplished amazing things for someone his age, garnering him nicknames like Iceman and King of Kabaddi. In the coming years, he wants to accomplish even more for his club. For an Indian male of ordinary height, Ajay is quite tall.

Standing at 6 feet 1 inch, the Indian Kabaddi player may easily reach his opponents during a match. Currently, he is about 76 kg (168 lbs) in weight. However, he claimed in a previous interview that he was only 35 kg when he began competing in kabaddi events at the age of 13. Even though he gained weight over the years and is currently maintaining his weight by working out frequently, he was just about 62 kg when he made his senior Indian national team debut.

 Professional Career

Ajay, who is frequently cited as one of India’s top raiders, began competing in kabaddi competitions at the age of 13. It proved to be really helpful because his cousin had also begun playing with him. Ajay began working for the major airline business Air India not long after receiving his degree from college.

He participated in the Industrial Kabaddi Championship at the same time as an employee for Air India. He first gained notoriety by playing for the senior Indian National Team. At the Asian Indoor Games that same year, his squad took home gold (2007).

It was Thakur’s first international medal, and he was only 19 years old at the time. The athlete has since made countless appearances on the kabaddi court while proudly supporting India while wearing blue, and he has won significant trophies and medals for his country.

Ajay represented India in the 2013 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, where he took home a gold medal. In 2014, he repeated the feat at the Asian Games, which were both held in Incheon, South Korea.As a result of his continued excellence, he was selected for the Indian National Team’s final roster for the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad, India.

With the most raid points and 68 total points, Thakur outperformed everyone else and emerged as the  event’s top raider. He also played a remarkable match-winning game, defeating Iran in the championship game with 12 raid points. In the beginning, the Indian team was in a deficit and in danger of losing.

Thakur assumed leadership of the Indian National Team in 2017, following Anup Kumar’s resignation as captain, and helped the team win the Asian Kabaddi Championship that followed. However, they were only able to win bronze at the 2018 Asian Games, which were held in Jakarta.

Life in the Pro Kabaddi League

Thakur made his Pro Kabaddi League debut as Bengaluru Bulls’ captain in the first season. He entered the domestic league that year with some experience under his belt, amassing 127 points in 15 games, including 122 raid points and 5 tackle points. In season 2, he served as the team’s captain but had less success than in season 1 with only 79 raid points in 13 games.

For the third season of the PKL, he was traded to Puneri Paltan since he could not perform to expectations. Unfortunately, Thakur’s performance declined even further from his disappointing showing in the previous season. This was his lowest season total in the PKL to date with only 52 raid points and 4 tackle points earned.

He spent a number of seasons with Puneri Paltan, where he played in some of his worst games of his career, before being moved to Tamil Thalaivas as captain for PKL season 5. Also He rediscovered his form, made significant progress, and put up his greatest performance to date, tallying 213 raid points and 9 tackle points in just 22 games.

And then he continued to play well the next season, amassing 203 raid points and a tackle point in 22 games for the same club. But contrary to initial expectations, his club was unable to claim the league crowns.

He had the poorest season ever in season 7, scoring just 58 raid points in 13 games, and for season 8 of the PKL in 2021–2022, he was acquired by another team, Dabang Delhi. Despite having established himself as a capable player and captain with exceptional leadership abilities, none of the teams he has played for have won the league championship.

Ajay Thakur: Spouse and Kids

Over the course of his lengthy kabaddi playing career, no media outlet reported his romantic relationships. People haven’t heard any rumors regarding his personal life, possibly because he prefers not to share it in public. However, we are no longer required to wait for stories and chitchat about this former Indian kabaddi captain to circulate.

Sandeep Kaur Rana and he were wed on April 10, 2019. She is a homemaker, and he gets along well with her. A girl was born to Kaur on April 27, 2021. She even has the name Anaya. Through an Instagram post, he had expressed his joy at becoming a parent to his followers and loved ones.

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Online presence

Like any other famous person, Ajay Thakur communicates frequently with his followers on social media. He enjoys keeping in touch with his followers, friends, and family because he is an outgoing individual both on and off the kabaddi court.

Ajay constantly updates his Facebook page with information about his everyday activities and the events he attends. Also He has a page with approximately the same number of followers as well as a verified personal account with about 30k followers. He also has an Instagram account with the username ajaythakurkabaddi, which as of January 2022 had about 311k followers. He may also be found on Twitter with the handle @thakurkabaddi.

Awards and Successes

Over the course of his lengthy and fascinating career, which has lasted more than 15 years, he has already accomplished some incredible exploits for the Indian National Team in numerous major events. He has been a dependable player for his country since 2007, and he was a member of the illustrious squad that won the Asian Indoor Games in 2007 and 2013, the Asian Championships in 2017, and the most memorable Kabaddi World Cup in 2016.

In addition to winning medals and trophies at the competition, he received the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honor in India, in 2019. He received the Arjuna Award, India’s second-highest sporting accolade, that same year for his exceptional performance in sports and games and for inspiring young athletes.

Above all, young people interested in kabaddi throughout India look up to him as an inspiration, hoping to one day achieve his level of success in sports.

Controversy

Thakur, a professional athlete with a spotless reputation who loves to stay out of controversy and rumors, has, however, once been taken by surprise. In March 2021, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) placed Thakur and four other well-known Indian athletes on a temporary suspension.

His suspension was cited in a NADA newsletter as a result of his failure to promptly report his whereabouts, which the organization claimed was against its whereabouts policies. The suspension lasted for two years. Ajay Thakur became the first Indian athlete to get a suspension for failing to provide the appropriate authorities with information regarding his whereabouts.