Deepak Ram Niwas Hooda (born june 10, 1994) is an Indian professional kabaddi player and head of India national kabaddi team. He was member of the Indian team that achieved the gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games. He has also competed in every season of the pro kabaddi league. Deepak is considered as one of the marvelous member in Pro Kabaddi League history.

Early Life:

Hooda was born in Chamariya village, Rohtak district, Haryana to a peasant family. His mother passed away when he was 4 years old. He involved himself in kabaddi which played in his village only. He was studying in class 12^th when his father Ram Niwas passed away in 2013, leaving him the sole income producer for the family. As a effect, he had to drop out from his studies and become a part-time teacher. For the next two annuals after finishing his school work, he went to other villages to practice kabaddi, which helped him greatly to work on his game. After that he did his high school diploma. There he played into All India College Tournament and and attained the gold medal. He then withdrew again follow a career in Kabaddi.

Career:

Hooda was involved in the Haryana team that achieved the gold medal at 2014 Senior National level tournament in Patna. He made his launch for the National team at the 2016 South Asian Games, where his team obtained the gold medal.

Pro Kabaddi League:

In the Pro Kabaddi league’s inaugural season auction in 2014, Hooda received the second highest bid and was acquired by Telugu Titans for 12.6 lakhs. In 2016, after being a part of Telugu Titans for the first two seasons, Hooda switched to the Puneri Paltans for the third and fourth and fifth seasons. In the third place play-off, Hooda gave Puneri Paltan the highest sum of nine raid points, serving them to the third podium end of the season. In season 6, Deepak was acquired by Jaipur Pink Panthers for Rs 1.15 crore. His performance that season earned him a top 5 by name and he was named Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 all-rounder. He made 162 victorious starts out of 366 starts and achieved a sum of 208 points in 22 games happened. Deepak went on to played for Jaipur Pink Panthers in season 7. He was one of the amazing member for Jaipur Pink Panthers in the first half of the season when it looked like Jaipur would walk away with award. He gained 7 super 10s throughout the season, adding the sum of 158 points. Jaipur fell into a drought in between where they didn’t win a contest for a month and a half in PKL season 7, ultimately causing them to miss out on playoff spots. As a player, Deepak gave his all, but in terms of captaincy he was disappointed. He lacked vision and full control of the team, leading to his downfall. His raiding behavior was top-notch but he couldn’t give reason for his all-rounder defensive brand. Jaipur be without consistency in defence which was the main reason why they dropped out from the top 6.

International Career:

In 2016, Deepak was part of the vibrant national team that won the gold medal at the South Asian Games in Guwahati. The same annual, the prodigy was also part of the gold medal winning team at the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad. Later in 2017 Deepak competed in the Asian Kabaddi Championship in Gorgan and won the gold medal. In 2018, he participated in in Jakarta Asian Games and won the bronze medal. In the same annual he also won the gold medal at the 2018 Dubai Kabaddi Masters.

He received the captaincy for the 2019 South Asian Games and successfully helped the team win the gold medal. It was his second gold medal in the championship and his first as a captain.

Love Life:

On 7 july, 2022 Deepak Niwas Hooda united in marriage with boxer Saweety Bora.