Lalit Kumar is an Indian Kabaddi Coach. In December 2023, he was selected for the Dronacharya award.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Lalit Kumar was born in a village in Delhi. He pursued his graduation at Delhi University. During his graduation, he participated in various university-level and national-level wrestling competitions.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Lalit Kumar belongs to a family of wrestlers in a village in Delhi.
Parents & Siblings
Lalit Kumar’s father is a bank employee, and his mother is a homemaker.
Wife & Children
Lalit Kumar has a daughter.
Religion
Lalit Kumar follows Hinduism.
Career
After graduation, Lalit started wrestling practice at his uncle’s akhara, Lala Ram Vyamshala, in Delhi’s Roshnara area and started playing at the national level in the 63-kg and 68-kg wrestling categories in Delhi, and won many medals at the national and university games in the 90s. However, due to a knee injury, he had to discontinue his wrestling career. He did not want to quit wrestling, so his uncle advised him to get a wrestling coaching certificate. Later, Lalit pursued a diploma in wrestling coaching at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala. In an interview, Lalit revealed that after the knee injury, he did not want his family’s wrestling legacy to end, so he decided to pursue wrestling coaching. He said,
I dislocated my knee more often than I should have. In the nineties, operation was a dreaded word and for players, it was more so as they said it would end careers. Mine though was ended by the lack of it, Since my other brothers were already doing well in fields other than sports, there was still an urge to keep myself associated with the game and keep the family legacy going. It was at that point that tau ji asked me to get a coaching certificate from the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala. Coaching was the only way I could still stay attached with the love of my life.” [1]Business Standard
In 2006, he received his diploma in wrestling coaching from the National Institute of Sports, Lalit started working in Bulandshahar as a Uttar Pradesh government-contracted coach. Later, he returned to his uncle’s gym, Lala Ram Vyamshala, in Delhi. After working at his uncle’s gym for some time, he got a job offer from the Delhi government as a coach. In 2010, he began working as a wrestling coach at Singhu Sports Complex for the Delhi government. In 2012, he was posted to Chhatrasal, where he worked for more than 12 years. Over the years, he has coached many famous wrestlers such as Olympic silver medallists Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia. He has also coached the world championship silver medallist Aman Sehrawat, who won a bronze at the 2022 Asian Gamesin Hangzhou, China.
Awards
- In September 2021, he was awarded the Delhi State Best Sports Coach award.
- On 9 January 2024, Lalit Kumar was awarded the 2023 Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games.
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview, Lalit talked about his daily routine while working at the Chhatrasal Academy, Delhi, and revealed that his day starts at 5:00 am in winter and 4:30 am in summer. He also said that he works a 5-hour shift in the morning and a five-hour shift in the evening. He said,
In winter by 5 am and in summer by 4.30 am, I am at the akhara in Chhatrasal, no matter what the weather is like. It is a non-negotiable for me, I put in a five-hour shift with the wrestlers in the morning and do official work thereafter, till I return to the [wrestling] mat at 3 in the evening for five more hours.”
References
↑1 | Business Standard |
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