No injury concerns behind Anup Kumar's non-selection for Asian Championships team: AKFI official

The list of Indian probables for the upcoming Asian Kabaddi Championships in Iran was announced earlier this week and featured a total of 36 players, including some established Pro Kabaddi League stars along with a few fresh names. There were a few star players that did not make the cut and perhaps whose name stands out the most is of Anup Kumar.

The reason behind the move was unclear at first but now, some insights have come to light in the matter. A senior official in the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) spoke to Sportskeeda and explained the scenario.

"The matter to exclude him was decided by the selection committee," he said. "There are no injury concerns with him as such."

When asked about whether he may have asked to skip the tournament for a rest, he said, "To the best of my knowledge, there was no such request from the player's side."

It is indeed a strange turn of events and Anup's exclusion comes as a huge surprise to fans, given his incredible record with the national team in international events, his spectacular performances in the Pro Kabaddi League as captain of U Mumba and last year's Kabaddi World Cup victory, where Iran were defeated in a hard-fought final.

He took U Mumba to the PKL title in Season 2 and also to runners-up finishes in Season 1 and Season 3, leading by example and also playing a crucial role by getting the best out of his teammates.

By his lofty standards, he did not have a very good Season 5, with his team not making it to the Super Playoffs. He scored a total of 112 raid points along with 23 tackle points, indicating how he had to chip in defence as well.

The Asian Championships start on November 22 and India, despite missing Anup, will start as favourites ahead of the likes of Iran, South Korea and Japan.