"Naveen express was actually the name given to me by fans": Naveen Kumar

Dabang Delhi star player Naveen Kumar shared his excitement and got candid on his journey ahead of the upcoming season for the opening match of PKL 2024 against U Mumba set for October 18th from 730 PM onwardsSpeaking on his journey in lsquoKings Of Kabaddirsquo episode of Star Sports Naveen Kumar said ldquoI was in 5th class and not good in studies at all Through a government scheme I came to know that there are some events that is happening in my district I skipped my school to participate in that event and cleared the match with 19 marks After passing I was told that the government will give me money for my diet and said that you will have to play Kabaddi My grandfather requested my coach not to beat me during the practice match and he ensured that I will come to play Kabaddi everyday This is how my interest kept growing in KabaddiSpeaking about being the only player who made his debut in PKL at such a young age Naveen said on lsquoKings of Kabaddirsquo episode of Star Sportsrdquo No I didnt feel that but I had thought about it When I used to see Rishank Anoop Ajay Thakur when I used to play I thought that one day I would make a name for myself like them I would work hard to reach that level I didnt thought that I would come this early I just knew that I had to do something if I wanted to achieve something So I was working hard I had dreams that came truerdquoAlso ReadTwo years just flew by enjoying highs and lows of my game Arshdeep SinghSpeaking about his debut season and the excitement and nervousness that he was facing Naveen said on lsquoKings of Kabaddirsquo episode of Star Sportsrdquo I remember every moment There were lights and cameras There was nervousness and excitement on how we would play the match Our first leg started in Chennai in 2018 We played the 1st match against Gujarat We were a good team with Sachin Sunil and Parvesh I was confident that I would do well The coach gave me a chance Everyone was supporting me There were all seniors with me They said Naveen you will do well You did well in the camp When I made my entry I had never seen such a big audience before I was really nervous I didnt know what was going to happen That match was over and i got 6 points Sometimes I got an out sometimes a number which happens I came to this level that I gained confidence I did better against Puneri Paltan Our third match was against Bengal Warriors where I scored a super 10 The coach said yes you will do well I was confident that I would do wellrdquoSpeaking on his fan moment Naveen said on lsquoKings of Kabaddirsquo episode of Star Sportsrdquo The day I scored a super 10 I got a lot of requests The number of requests increased eventually He cheekily mentions that ldquoI remember young girls were saying that I am a big fan and please marry me Naveen also mentioned that his wife is also in sports and is a pistolshooter ldquoI met her on Instagram We had been friends for 23 years She is a sports person She doesnt bother me much She knows how much rest I need and makes a good diet for me She knows what an athlete needs Whenever I am demotivated she supports merdquoSpeaking on the story behind his jersey number 10 Naveen said on lsquoKings of Kabaddirsquo episode of Star Sportsrdquo I used to go to watch Sachin Tendulkarrsquos matches with my father and grandfather Thats how I came to know about jersey number 10 My seniors used to ask me which jersey number I wanted I used to say that I wanted jersey number 10 Thats how I came to know about jersey number 10 When I made my debut Viraj who is my senior had the jersey number 10 He was already a retained player I asked him to give me jersey number 19 After he went away I was given jersey number 10 and from there I decided that I will never leave this jerseySpeaking about being labelled as Naveen Express Naveen said on lsquoKings of Kabaddirsquo episode of Star Sportsrdquo It was actually the name given to me by fans As every player in the PKL was assigned a name my manager also suggested and asked the fans on social media to give some name to me There were 34 options Naveen Express was the most popular optionrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever