National Sports Awards: Sandeep Narwal recommended for the Arjuna Award

vivo Pro Kabaddi's sensational all-rounder Sandeep Narwal is amongst the 35 athletes recommended for the prestigious Arjuna Award by the National Sports Awards Selection Committee.

The Arjuna Award, presented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, recognises outstanding sporting achievements across all fields.

Sportspersons receive their awards from the President of India at the Presidential Palace on India’s national sports day - August 29. However, it was postponed this year to account for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. The two quadrennial showpieces ran back-to-back from July to September.

The date of the awards ceremony has not been announced yet.

Deepak Hooda was conferred the Arjuna Award last year. Ajay Thakur, Jasvir Singh, Anup Kumar and Manjeet Chhillar are some of the other notable names to win the award.

Sandeep Narwal made his debut for the Indian national kabaddi team in the 2016 Asian Beach Games. The Haryana-based all-rounder then went on to represent the country in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup, where India defeated Iran in the summit clash to lift the trophy.

The 28-year-old Sandeep Narwal has also played in multiple international tournaments and has won several gold medals including the 2017 Asian Kabaddi Championship and Dubai Kabaddi Masters in 2018. He was a part of the national team that claimed bronze in the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia. Sandeep Narwal has won multiple accolades in Pro Kabaddi as well.

Also known as ‘The Beast’, Sandeep is one of the most successful all-rounders in vivo Pro Kabaddi history, amassing 119 points in the inaugural season. He was part of the Patna Pirates squad for the first three seasons and played a vital role in the team's title-winning run in Season 3. He won the 'Best Defender' award for scoring 55 tackle points and six High-5s that season.

Sandeep Narwal went on to represent Telugu Titans, Puneri Paltan and U Mumba in the following seasons, where he stamped his authority with flexibility in his raids and tremendous defensive skills. He is also one of only three all-rounders to have scored over 500 points in the league's history and holds the record for the most super tackles (28) by any player.

The experienced campaigner will ply his trade for Dabang Delhi K.C. in the upcoming vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 8, where he will join the likes of Joginder Narwal, Jeeva Kumar, Manjeet Chhillar and Ajay Thakur in the ranks.