Sanju Devi is an Indian kabaddi player from Chhattisgarh who has made a name for herself in women’s kabaddi. She plays as a raider and became the first woman kabaddi player from Chhattisgarh to represent India at the international level. Her journey from Kerakachhar village in Korba district to the Indian national team is closely linked with school kabaddi, district-level training, the Bilaspur residential academy and her family’s support.

Sanju Devi’s biggest international achievement came in 2025. She was part of the Indian women’s team that won the 6th Women’s Asian Kabaddi Championship in Iran and later won the Women’s Kabaddi World Cup in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In the World Cup final against Chinese Taipei, she scored 16 raid points, including a four-point raid, and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

In September 2026 she won her first Asian Games gold medal. India beat Iran 37-34 in the women’s kabaddi final at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, and Sanju played in the final.

Her rise is also important in the context of Chhattisgarh kabaddi. Sanju’s international selection marked the first time in Chhattisgarh’s 25-year history that a kabaddi player from the state represented the country internationally. She was also named for the Martyr Rajiv Pandey Award for 2025-26 in Chhattisgarh.

Sanju Devi Biography

Details Information
Full Name Sanju Devi
Date of Birth 19 December 2002
Birthplace Kerakachhar, Pali block, Korba district, Chhattisgarh
State Chhattisgarh
Country India
Sport Kabaddi
Playing Position Raider
National Team India Women
First Senior International Year 2025
Major International Honours Asian Championship Gold (2025), Women’s Kabaddi World Cup Gold (2025), Asian Games Gold (2026)
World Cup 2025 Award Most Valuable Player

Early Life of Sanju Devi

Sanju Devi was born in Kerakachhar village in the Pali block of Korba district, Chhattisgarh. She grew up in a family where money was limited, and her father Ramji was the main earning member of the household. Her mother, Amrika, is a homemaker, while her younger brother has also been mentioned in reports about the family.

Her interest in kabaddi started at school. Sanju first played kabaddi in Class 5 at her government school, and at that stage the sport was mainly something she enjoyed for fun. Later, watching her two cousins play kabaddi at college made her more interested in taking the game seriously. She gradually started thinking about kabaddi as something that could become part of her professional life.

The early path was not easy because there were not many girls around her who were interested in playing kabaddi. Sanju has spoken about how, at the age of 15, she sometimes struggled even to form a girls’ team for practice. However, she kept playing in inter-school competitions and continued to look for ways to improve.

Sanju Devi’s Family and Support

Family support played a major part in Sanju Devi’s kabaddi journey. Her parents supported her even when the family had to manage limited income. Reports about her life say that her father earned around Rs 75,000 a year and was the sole breadwinner, while expenses related to food, travel and accommodation created an additional challenge during her early training years.

Sanju’s family was not simply helping her financially. Their support also allowed her to continue her studies while she trained as a kabaddi player. She was taking an ITI fitter course in Pali when she started travelling to Korba for training, showing how she tried to balance education and sport at the same time.

As her career developed, Sanju’s family became an important part of her public story. After her World Cup success in 2025, she returned home to Chhattisgarh and received congratulations from state leaders and members of the local community. The celebrations highlighted how closely her sporting journey was connected to her family and home state.

Start of Her Kabaddi Career

Sanju Devi’s more serious kabaddi journey began around 2021. At that stage, she started training with the district kabaddi association in Korba. Her first coach was Anuj Pratap Singh, who helped teach her the basics and played an important role in her early development.

Training meant travelling a long distance from her village to Korba. Reports say the journey took around 90 minutes each way, which meant nearly three hours could be spent travelling in a day. To manage this routine along with her ITI course, Sanju stayed in a hostel in Korba for four days before returning to Pali for two days.

Although she received free coaching, the costs of food and staying in Korba still had to be managed by her family. This period became an important stage in her development because she was no longer playing kabaddi only at the school level. She was now training with a clear goal of moving into higher-level competitions.

Domestic Kabaddi Career

Sanju Devi’s domestic career developed through school, district and state-level kabaddi before she moved into the national system. She represented Chhattisgarh at the 69th Senior National Kabaddi Championship for women in 2023.

She was also part of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur’s women’s kabaddi team during the Khelo India University Games 2022. Sanju contributed heavily for the university side in the opening stages of its game against Chaudhary Ranbir Singh University, Jind.

A major step came in 2023 when she was selected at the Khelo India State Centre of Excellence and Girls Residential Kabaddi Academy in Bilaspur. The academy provided her with free training, food and accommodation. This gave her a more stable training environment and reduced the financial pressure on her family. She trained there under coach Dil Kumar Rathod.

Sanju Devi’s Playing Position and Style

Sanju Devi is a raider for the Indian women’s kabaddi team. Her role is mainly to enter the opposition half, score raid points and return safely to her side. Her performances in major matches show that she can be used as an attacking option when the team needs points.

Her role was clearly visible in the 2025 Women’s Kabaddi World Cup final. Against Chinese Taipei, she scored 16 raid points and produced a four-point super raid in the first half. She also scored India’s first point of the final and was involved in several important phases of the match as India won 35-28.

Rather than relying on a single public statistic to describe her career, Sanju’s documented record shows a steady progression from school kabaddi to domestic competition and then international tournaments. Her rise has happened over several stages, with structured training in Bilaspur playing an important part in that development.

Sanju Devi’s International Career

Sanju Devi made her senior international breakthrough in 2025. She was selected for India’s squad for the 6th Senior Women’s Asian Kabaddi Championship in Tehran, Iran, held from March 4 to 9, 2025.

India won the Asian Championship, with Sanju becoming part of the team that secured the gold medal. The Asian Championship victory also helped India qualify for the Women’s Kabaddi World Cup.

Later in 2025, Sanju was selected for India’s Women’s Kabaddi World Cup campaign in Dhaka. India went through the tournament unbeaten and reached the final against Chinese Taipei. In the title match, Sanju scored 16 raid points as India won 35-28 and retained the Women’s Kabaddi World Cup title.

The World Cup became the defining tournament of Sanju Devi’s international career so far. She was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, an award that recognised her performances across India’s campaign. Her World Cup performance brought her wide attention and made her one of the best-known kabaddi players from Chhattisgarh.

Sanju Devi Wins Asian Games Gold (2026)

Sanju Devi was selected in India’s 12-member women’s kabaddi squad for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The squad also included Ritu Negi, Pushpa Rana, Sonali Shingate, Pooja Kajla, Ritu Sheoran and Jyoti Thakur. The kabaddi competition was held from 21 to 26 September 2026 at the Tokai Citizens Gymnasium in Aichi.

India beat Bangladesh 42-21, Iran 37-23 and Japan 50-25, then beat Nepal 48-24 in the semi-final. In the final on 26 September 2026, India, captained by Pushpa Rana, beat Iran 37-34 to retain the gold medal. India led 22-16 at half-time. Sanju Devi played in the final, and her super raid swung momentum back in India’s favour. Late in the match she also scored two points in a raid that put India 34-28 ahead.

The gold medal was Sanju’s first at the Asian Games and India’s fourth in women’s kabaddi at the Games. It came one year after her Asian Championship and World Cup titles in 2025. Her full raid-point total for the tournament has not been published in one reliable record.

Sanju Devi’s Career Stats

Detailed match-by-match career statistics for Sanju Devi are not published in one reliable public database. The table below lists her main verified figures and achievements.

Career Category Sanju Devi’s Record
Playing Position Raider
School Kabaddi Start Class 5
Inter-School Kabaddi Played by age 15
Professional Kabaddi Journey Began around 2021
Senior National Championship Participated in 69th Senior Nationals, 2023
Asian Championship 6th Women’s Asian Kabaddi Championship, 2025
Asian Championship Result Gold Medal
Women’s Kabaddi World Cup 2025
World Cup Result Gold Medal with India
World Cup Final India 35-28 Chinese Taipei
World Cup Final Raid Points 16
Four-Point Raid in Final 1
World Cup Award Most Valuable Player
2026 Asian Games Gold Medal (final: India 37-34 Iran)

Sanju Devi Net Worth

Sanju Devi’s net worth has not been publicly disclosed in any reliable source. Figures on some websites are estimates without verified information on salary, prize money or sponsorships, so no figure is given here.

Sanju Devi Facts

Sanju Devi started playing kabaddi in Class 5 at her village government school. She later competed at the inter-school level and became involved with the Korba district kabaddi association.

She trained under Anuj Pratap Singh during the early part of her career and later trained at the Girls Residential Kabaddi Academy in Bilaspur under coach Dil Kumar Rathod.

She is recognised as the first woman kabaddi player from Chhattisgarh to represent India internationally. Her 2025 international season included gold at the Asian Championship and gold at the Women’s Kabaddi World Cup.

In the 2025 Women’s Kabaddi World Cup final, Sanju scored 16 raid points against Chinese Taipei as India won 35-28. She also produced a four-point raid during the match.

She was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2025 Women’s Kabaddi World Cup. It is the biggest individual award of her career so far.

Sanju won gold with India at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where India beat Iran 37-34 in the final.

Sanju Devi’s Professional Life

Sanju Devi’s professional life has followed a clear path from village kabaddi to the national team. She began with school games, moved into district training, represented her university and state, and later entered the Indian senior setup. Each stage gave her a different level of competition and training.

The establishment of the residential academy in Bilaspur was an important part of her professional journey because it gave her access to regular coaching, food and accommodation. For an athlete from a financially limited family, this type of support can make a major difference in continuing sport as a full-time career.

Her international breakthrough came in 2025 and brought two major gold medals in the same year, followed by Asian Games gold in 2026. The Asian Championship gave her a first major senior international title, while the World Cup gave her both a team title and the individual MVP award.

In September 2026 she added an Asian Games gold medal. Her career record now includes domestic competition, senior international representation, three major international gold medals and a World Cup MVP award. For a player who started kabaddi in Class 5, her journey has developed through several clear stages and remains closely connected with Chhattisgarh’s growing kabaddi story.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Sanju Devi?

Sanju Devi is an Indian women’s kabaddi player from Chhattisgarh who plays as a raider. She was the first woman kabaddi player from Chhattisgarh to represent India internationally.

Did Sanju Devi win a gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games?

Yes. Sanju Devi won gold with India at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where India beat Iran 37-34 in the women’s final on 26 September 2026.

What did Sanju Devi do in the 2026 Asian Games final?

She played in the final against Iran, and her super raid swung momentum back in India’s favour. Late in the match she scored two points in a raid that put India 34-28 ahead.

Was Sanju Devi the MVP of the Women’s Kabaddi World Cup?

Yes. She was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2025 Women’s Kabaddi World Cup in Dhaka, which India won.

How many points did Sanju Devi score in the 2025 World Cup final?

She scored 16 raid points, including a four-point raid, as India beat Chinese Taipei 35-28 in the final.

Where is Sanju Devi from?

Sanju Devi was born in Kerakachhar village in the Pali block of Korba district, Chhattisgarh.

What is Sanju Devi’s date of birth?

Her date of birth is listed as 19 December 2002.

Which position does Sanju Devi play?

Sanju Devi is a raider for the Indian women’s kabaddi team.

Who coached Sanju Devi?

Her first coach was Anuj Pratap Singh in Korba. She later trained under coach Dil Kumar Rathod at the Girls Residential Kabaddi Academy in Bilaspur.

Who are Sanju Devi’s parents?

Her father, Ramji, was the main earning member of the family, and her mother, Amrika, is a homemaker.