‘International Kabaddi player wanted to free game from drugs, silenced’

“He was killed to suppress the voice of truth in the kabaddi world. He used to say that there is no place for any kind drugs in kabaddi as it is a game that it played to keep youth away from drugs,” said NRI Balwinder Singh, a senior official in the England Kabaddi Federation and associated with the game for the past over two decades.

“Sandeep was a true sportsman whose main objective was to promote the game to keep the youth healthy and away from drugs,” said Singh.

“The kabaddi league – Major Kabaddi League Federation – started by Sandeep had become very popular with in three years of its formation and because of its credibility and its efforts to keep the game clean,” said a local Kabaddi Committee members in Shahkot.

“Even our federation in UK had passed a resolution before the beginning of the kabaddi season last year that only players with zero percent drug consumption would be selected for the tournaments in India and abroad,” said Balwinder Singh.

He added that even people in UK had started staying away from players travelling from Punjab due to their alleged involvement with drugs.

“Earlier, they were showered with a lot of love an invited to homes like stars…Sandeep wanted to revive that glory of kabaddi through his league which had around a dozen teams and 250 players associated with it,” said Balwinder, who is also patron of Shakot Lions team, adding that this league had played one season before the outbreak of Covid and then the current season.

It is learnt that because of this credibility enjoyed by Sandeep’s league his teams were over-booked for the season.

“His federation was selecting only those youth who wanted to play kabaddi as a game and did not indulge in any drug business,” said a senior player who plays for various federations.

His fellow players and some family sources informed that ‘contract killers’ could have been hired to eliminating him.

The family of the deceased NRI player has refused to cremate his body, which has been kept in the Nakodar Civil Hospital’s mortuary, till the culprits are not arrested.

A senior police officer said that they were looking into involvement of contract killers.

On Wednesday, family and supporters organised of the deceased player had organised massive dharna outside the hospital to protest alleged police inaction. Meanwhile, his wife along with their two twin sons have already reached the family’s native village.

Nangal was among the world’s top five kabaddi players and the head of ‘Major Kabaddi League Federation’, which organises tournaments in Punjab and abroad.

He had represented the UK team as captain in various Kabaddi World Cup tournaments organised by the Punjab government. He also ran a team — the Shahkot Lions.