Arjun Deshwal

Arjun Deshwal is an Indian raider who has become one of the most prolific scorers in the Pro Kabaddi League. Born on 7 July 1999, he is known in the league as the “Raid Machine” for his aggressive raiding. He has also won Asian Games gold with India.

Early life

Deshwal comes from Basera in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh. He used to watch boys play kabaddi in his village and was playing regularly by the age of 14. He represented his school at the under-16 School Nationals, and in 2019 he was selected for the Uttarakhand state team. In domestic tournaments he represents Services and Green Army.

PKL career

He began his professional career with U Mumba, playing 3 matches in Season 6 and then 19 matches in Season 7, when he scored 106 points with 3 Super 10s. His move to the Jaipur Pink Panthers turned him into a headline raider. Over four seasons with Jaipur he posted 268 points in Season 8, 296 in Season 9, 278 in Season 10 and 230 in Season 11.

Season 9 was the standout. He finished with 17 Super 10s, helped Jaipur win the title and is considered one of the top raiders of that campaign. Across seven PKL seasons he has played 132 matches and scored 1391 points, 1383 of them from raids, with 74 Super 10s.

Season 12

Deshwal joined Tamil Thalaivas for Season 12 and kept up his scoring, with 209 raid points from 18 matches, 11 Super 10s and a raid strike rate of 58%.

The highlight came in Chennai, where he scored a career-best 26 points as the Thalaivas beat Patna Pirates 56-37 to sign off their home leg. That night he recorded his eighth Super 10 of the season and his 71st overall, which at the time was the third most in PKL history. The Thalaivas’ 56 points was also the highest team total in a match that season.

International career

Deshwal was part of the Indian team that won gold at the 2022 Asian Games, beating Iran 33-29 in the final.

He was again central to India’s success at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where India beat Iran 40-34 in the final to defend their title and claim a record ninth men’s kabaddi gold. He and Devank Dalal led the attack, with Deshwal keeping India ticking through a mix of touches and bonus points. His raid past Iran captain Fazel Atrachali set up an All Out that gave India a five-point lead with 10 minutes left, and India went on to finish the campaign unbeaten.

Statistics and team history: Pro Kabaddi League.