Dharmaraj Cheralathan
Dharmaraj Cheralathan (born 21 April 1975) is an Indian Kabaddi player who currently represents Haryana Steelers in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi league. He was a member of the Indian Kabaddi team that won gold at the Kabaddi World Cup in 2016. Nicknamed “Anna”, Cheralathan led Patna Pirates to the Pro Kabaddi league in Season 4 and is one of the leading Super Tackle scorers in VIVO Pro Kabaddi history. He is capable of playing as both a right and left corner, Cheralathan has more than two decades of experience. The veteran defender is tactically sound and has consistently combined his experience and intelligence to outwit raiders.
| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dharmaraj Cheralathan | ||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Anna[1] | ||||||||||
| Nationality | Indian | ||||||||||
| Citizenship | Indian | ||||||||||
| Born | 21 April 1975[1] Thiruchanampondi, Tamil Nadu | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Kabbadi Player | ||||||||||
| Years active | 1989 – present | ||||||||||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||||||||||
| Weight | 78.6 kg (173 lb) | ||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||
| Country | India | ||||||||||
| Sport | Kabaddi | ||||||||||
| Position | Defender Left and right corner | ||||||||||
| League | Pro Kabaddi League | ||||||||||
| Club | Haryana Steelers, Telugu Titans, Bengaluru Bulls, Patna Pirates,Puneri Paltan, U Mumba | ||||||||||
| Team | India national kabaddi team | ||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
Cheralathan comes from a farming family in Tamil Nadu. He has one brother and two sisters. According to him, farming was all that was important to him while growing up. Even his brother is a farmer. They spent a lot of their young days working in the fields. Cheralathan's brother, D. Gopu, has also played in the Pro Kabaddi league and was a defender for Tamil Thalaivas in Season 6.[1]
Kabaddi career
Pro Kabaddi career
Season 1
Cheralathan played for Bengaluru Bulls in the inaugural season and scored 39 raid points as well as 13 tackle points.[2] He had a tackle strike rate of 56.52% and was a nightmare for opposition raiders to deal with.[3]
Season 2
With 42 tackle points, Cheralathan led the Bengaluru Bulls defence in the second season. He also contributed in attack with 19 raid points.[2] His tackle strike rate of 61.76%[2] is undoubtedly impressive, but what stood out from this season was his success while raiding.[3]
Season 3
He was bought by Telugu Titans for the subsequent season and scored 31 tackle points[2] for the side from Hyderabad. Despite a slight dip in his tackle success rate, Cheralathan still averaged a tackle strike rate of more than 50%.[3]
Season 4
Patna Pirates roped in Cheralathan ahead of the fourth season for Rs 29 lakh and appointed him as captain.[1] He scored 39 tackle points and was rock-solid in defence as the Pirates made it back-to-back league titles. Cheralathan also topped the Super Tackles chart in the fourth season with 8 to his name.[2]
Season 5
He moved to Puneri Paltan for the following edition and only managed to score 25 tackle points with the Pune-based side. Cheralathan played 18 games for Pune but couldn't score more than 4 points in any of those contests.[2]
Season 6
After joining U Mumba in 2018, Cheralathan enjoyed a renaissance and scored an impressive 40 tackle points. He had a tackle strike rate of 57.97% and produced a defensive masterclass during U Mumba's win over Gujarat Fortunegiants in Delhi. Cheralathan's High 5 on the night against Season 6's finalists helped his side secure a victory.[4]
International
A member of the Kabaddi Hall of Fame, Cheralathan holds nine gold medals from events such as the Kabaddi National Championship,[1] the 2017 Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Beach Games.
Records and achievements
- VIVO Pro Kabaddi Champion (2016)
- 2016 Kabaddi World Cup winner
- Gold at 2017 Southeast Asian Games
- Gold at 2017 Asian Beach Games
References
- Sportskeeda, Sportskeeda. "Dharmaraj Cheralathan". Sportskeeda. Sportskeeda. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- Cheralatharan, Dharmaraj. "stats". prokabaddi. prokabaddi. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- Cheralathan, Dharmaraj. "dharmaraj-cheralathan-playerprofile". prokabaddi. prokabaddi. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- prokabaddi, prokabaddi. "dominant-defence-sees-u-mumba-secure-first-victory-over-gujarat-fortunegiants". prokabaddi. prokabaddi. Retrieved 27 June 2019.