Guman Singh

Guman Singh is an Indian raider who has become one of the most familiar attacking names in the Pro Kabaddi League. Since his debut in Season 7, he has played six seasons with five franchises, and his price tag at two straight auctions shows how highly teams rate him. Across 97 PKL matches he has scored 656 points, 647 of them in raids, with 28 Super 10s.

Early years

As a boy, Guman preferred cricket. That changed in 2014, when his uncle spotted his kabaddi talent just as the PKL launched and drew a huge TV audience. “I was fond of cricket but decided to switch to kabaddi after my uncle recognized my ability at a very young age,” he told Outlookindia. At 15 he left his family to train at the Narwal Kabaddi and Sports Academy in Rindhana, about 150 kilometres from his village. “It was initially hard because I was living away from them,” he recalled, but training day and night gave him confidence.

PKL career

His big break came with Jaipur Pink Panthers in Season 7 in 2019, before he had even played nationals. He featured in four matches for five points, but said he learned a lot, and that experience proved crucial at the Nationals with Chandigarh.

Patna Pirates picked him for Season 8, his first stint under coach Ram Mehar Singh. He scored 97 points in 19 matches and has called it his breakout season. Two seasons with U Mumba followed: 137 points in Season 9, then 168 points in Season 10, when his 163 raid points were the most by any U Mumba player.

Gujarat Giants signed him for Rs 1.97 crore ahead of Season 11, making him the third most expensive player at that auction. He repaid them with 161 points in 22 matches, including six Super 10s.

Season 12

UP Yoddhas, semi-finalists the previous season, bought him for Rs 1.07 crore at the PKL 12 auction. Head coach Jasveer Singh said Guman “brings a fresh attacking dimension to our raiding unit.” In 16 matches he scored 88 raid points, with two Super 10s and a raid strike rate of 51%.

Style of play

Guman built his early reputation on hand touches. “Earlier on in my PKL career, I used to win a lot of raid points through hand touches. That had reduced slightly,” he told ANI before Season 12, adding that the coaches had worked extensively in pre-season to help him regain the skill. His raid strike rate in Season 11 was close to 49 per cent.

Off the mat

Kabaddi has transformed life for Guman and his family. His success allowed him to build a house for them and secure a job in the Railways. “Kabaddi has given me everything. Everyone knows and recognizes me now and it gets very emotional,” he said.

Statistics and team history: Pro Kabaddi League.