Nitesh Kumar: Tamil Thalaivas’ new phenomenon in Pro Kabaddi

Tamil Thalaivas’ rising star Nitesh Kumar stole the limelight with his dominant performances in defence in Pro Kabaddi Season 11.

Featuring in his second season in Pro Kabaddi, the talented left corner defender

turned the mat into a fortress as he struck fear into the hearts of raiders with his brilliant tackles throughout Season 11.

Nitesh delivered clutch performances during pivotal moments, which kept the Thalaivas in contention during the recently concluded edition.

With 77 tackle points in 22 matches, Nitesh earned the well-deserved title of Best Defender of Season 11. The youngster finished with the most number of High 5s (8) in Season 11. He also contributed with 3 Super Tackles and 2 raid points.

Meanwhile, Nitesh produced some of the season’s most memorable tackles against the likes of Pardeep Narwal, Maninder Singh, Ajit Chouhan, Neeraj Narwal and Akash Shinde.

However, Nitesh’s outstanding performances later went in vain as the Thalaivas failed to qualify for the PKL playoffs after finishing ninth on the points table.

Nitesh’s foray into kabaddi

Nitesh initially took an interest in kabaddi during his school days after watching some of his classmates playing the sport. His kabaddi journey began on a mud surface.

“It started when I was in school, saw many of my friends were playing kabaddi and I thought why not try it. Slowly, my interest grew and that was the time when I started watching Pro Kabaddi, which made me love this sport even further,” Nitesh said in an interview.

From Yuva Kabaddi Series to PKL

In 2022, Nitesh grabbed the attention of PKL scouts in the Yuva Kabaddi Series. Having played for Periyar Panthers, the young left corner defender impressed everyone as he accumulated 30 tackle points in eight games in the Monsoon edition of the Yuva Kabaddi Series.

Later in 2023, Nitesh was roped in by Tamil Thalaivas under the New Young Player (NYP) category. The youngster made his Pro Kabaddi debut for the Thalaivas in Season 10. In his debut campaign, Nitish scored 4 tackle points and 1 Super Tackle.

In 2024, Nitesh emerged as the third-best defender of Season 11, in terms of tackle points, only behind Haryana Steelers’ Mohammadreza Shadloui (82) and Ankit Jaglan of Patna Pirates (79).

Having showcased his dominance in defence, the 20-year-old will be one of the rising stars to watch out for in the upcoming editions of the Pro Kabaddi League.

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