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Personal Information
| Full Name | Varun Kumar |
| Date of Birth | July 25, 1995 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Role | Defender |
Varun Kumar News
Varun Kumar: A Brief Biography
Varun Kumar is an Indian professional field hockey player who currently represents the Indian hockey team and also plays for the in the Hockey India League. He plays as a defender in the team .
Background
Born to an autorickshaw driver on 25th July 1995 in the Mithapur village of Punjab, Varun Kumar grew up alongside current Indian captain Manpreet Singh and was enrolled at the Surjit hockey academy in Punjab. Most of the time he would not have adequate accessories to play with and made up with the little he saved from his pocket money.
Early Days
Varun Kumar started off his career by representing his state in the Junior National Championship in 2012. He was to be a part of the Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2013, with fellow friend Manpreet Singh, but an injury saw him miss out on that spot.
He first broke into the India’s junior national team in 2014 but injuries again put up a hurdle and it took him almost 2 years to really make a mark. Owing to his talents and good performances in the junior Asia Cup in 2015, he was soon the first choice full-back of the team.
In 2016, he was selected for the Indian team which went onto win the Junior World Cup. He was also signed by the Punjab Warriors in the franchise-based league in 2014 when he was 18 years old.
Debut
Varun gave an amazing performance in the 2016 Junior World Cup which helped India to grab their 2nd ever title. The following year saw his promotion in the senior team where he made his debut in an 1-0 defeat against Belgium, on August 9.
In 2016, he also won the Hockey India League with Punjab Warriors where he was retained for 3 straight seasons
Current form and the future ahead
Varun is drag-flick expert and he has already shown his prowess with his two goals in the Junior World Cup. He is said by many to be the future of Indian Hockey especially as a defender who combines his basic functions with ruthless penalty conversions. The Indian number 7 who has modelled the Cristiano Ronaldo celebration, hails captain Manpreet Singh as his mentor.
