Pro Kabaddi League or abbreviated to PKL is an Indian men's professional Kabaddi league. It was launched in 2014 and is broadcast on Star Sports. It is the most popular kabaddi league in the world. It is also the second most watched sports league in India after the Indian Premier League (IPL). Puneri Paltan are the current champions of PKL.
The 2014 Pro Kabaddi League was the first season of Pro Kabaddi League. The duration of the season was from 26 July 2014 to 31 August 2014. There was double round robin matches along with two semi finals, third place and final games. 56 games were to be played in first round and 4 in play off stage making total of 60 games. 8 teams took part in first edition. First game was played on July 26 between U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers and the final was played on August 31 at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium, Mumbai. Jaipur Pink Panthers beat U Mumba by 35–24 to win the inaugural Pro Kabaddi League.
Jaipur Pink Panthers (JPP) is a professional kabaddi team from Jaipur, competing in the Pro Kabaddi League. The team is currently led by Sunil Kumar Malik and coached by Sanjeev Baliyan. The team is owned by Abhishek Bachchan. Jaipur Pink Panthers play their home matches at Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium. The team is the second most successful team in league history with two titles.
U Mumba is a professional kabaddi team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that plays in the Pro Kabaddi League. The franchise is currently led by Surinder singh, and will be coached by Gholamreza Mazandarani, coach of Iran national Kabbadi team. The team is owned by Unilazer Ventures Pvt. Ltd with co - founders in Ronnie Screwvala and Supratik Sen. U Mumba play their home matches at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium, Mumbai.
Puneri Paltan is a professional kabaddi team that represents the city of Pune, Maharashtra in the Pro Kabaddi League. The team, coached by BC Ramesh, plays at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex. In the 10th season of the Pro Kabaddi League, Puneri Paltan finished the group stages in the first position with record number of points in a PKL season (96), alongside record score difference (253). They defeated Patna Pirates to advance to the finale and defeated the Haryana Steelers by a margin of 28–25 in the final, making this the most successful campaign in a season by Puneri Paltan in PKL history.They are crowned as the champions in 2023-24 season on 1 March 2024
Telugu Titans is a professional kabaddi team based in Hyderabad, Telangana that plays in the Pro Kabaddi League. Telugu Titans is a franchise of Veera Sports owned by Srinivas Sreeramaneni of Vaya Group, of NED Group and Mahesh Kolli of Greenko Group. The Titans play their home matches at G. M. C. Balayogi SATS Indoor Stadium when in Hyderabad. The Titans reached the playoffs of Season 2 and 4 in PKL.
Anup Kumar is an Indian former professional Kabaddi player and Kabaddi Coach of PKL Team Puneri Paltan. He was a member of the India national kabaddi team that won Asian gold medals in 2010 and 2014, one South Asian gold medal in 2016 and the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. He was the captain of the Indian National Kabaddi Team. He spent five years with U Mumba and later moved to Jaipur Pink Panthers. In 2012, the Government of India conferred the Arjuna Award on him for his achievements in the sport. He is employed as a Deputy Commissioner of Police in his native State of Haryana. On 19 December 2018, he announced his retirement from kabbadi.
Ajay Thakur is an Indian professional Kabaddi player and the former captain of the Indian National Kabaddi Team.He is widely regarded as one of the Greatest Players Of All Time.He was part of the national teams which won 2016 Kabaddi World Cup and gold medal at 2014 Asian Games. He was awarded the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award in 2019.
The 2015 Pro Kabaddi League was the second season of Pro Kabaddi League. The season started on 18 July 2015. 56 games were played amongst 8 teams. First game was played between U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers. The event was broadcast live by Star Sports in India with commentary in 5 different languages - Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, English & Telugu.
Deepak Ram Niwas Hooda is an Indian professional Kabaddi player and the former captain of India national kabaddi team. He was part of the Indian team which won gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games. He has also featured in all the seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League. Deepak is regarded as one of the best all rounder in the Pro Kabaddi League history.
Pardeep Narwal is an Indian kabaddi player who currently plays for the UP Yoddha in Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian National Kabaddi team. Widely regarded as the greatest raider in Kabaddi history, he led the Patna Pirates to three straight VIVO Pro Kabaddi titles and holds a multitude of the league's raiding records.
Manjeet Chhillar is an Indian former professional kabaddi player who currently serves as the assistant coach of Telugu Titans. During his professional career, he played for the Indian national team and won a gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games and 2014 Asian Indoor Games in Incheon. He also played for teams in the Pro Kabaddi League including Bengaluru Bulls, Puneri Paltan, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Tamil Thalaivas, and Dabang Delhi. The Government of India conferred the Arjuna Award on him for his achievements in sports. In an exclusive chat with NNIS Sports, Chhillar termed it as a 'dream' to receive the prestigious award. He was also the member of state team of Haryana and is on top of Pro Kabaddi’s all-time leaderboards for tackle points (391), successful tackles (374) and High 5s (25).
Dharmaraj Cheralathan is an Indian Kabaddi player who currently represents Jaipur Pink Panthers 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.
Maninder Singh is an Indian professional Kabaddi player who plays for the India national kabaddi Team. He is the captain and lead raider of Bengal Warriors In the Pro Kabaddi League. Maninder is regarded as one of the best raiders in the league. He led Bengal Warriors to their maiden PKL trophy in 2019.
Mohit Chhillar is an Indian kabaddi player who currently plays for Tamil Thalaivas in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League. He hails from Nizampur, Haryana and has been one of India's best defenders for the past decade. He is a versatile defender who can complement other corner defenders and form successful partnerships. Known for his overpowering holds and swift dashes, Mohit is fifth in the league's all-time High 5s (17) chart and fourth in the Tackle Points (240) and Super Tackles (20) leaderboards.
The 2018–19 Vivo Pro Kabaddi League was the sixth season of Pro Kabaddi League, a professional kabaddi league in India since 2014. The season began on 7 October 2018 and concluded on 5 January 2019.
The 2019 Vivo Pro Kabaddi League was the seventh season of Pro Kabaddi League. The season began on 20 July 2019 and concluded on 19 October 2019. The zonal system present in the previous seasons was removed, and each team played against all the other teams twice.
PO Surjeet Singh is an Indian professional kabaddi player currently playing for Bengaluru Bulls in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League. He plays in the Right Cover position. He specializes in blocking and dashing his opponents out of the mat.
The 2021–22 Vivo Pro Kabaddi League was the eighth season of Pro Kabaddi League. The season began on 22 December 2021. The usual travelling caravan format was changed to a single venue hosting all the matches of the season due to spread of COVID-19 pandemic in India. Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bangalore was initially announced as the venue, but was later changed to the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Convention Center located in Whitefield, Bangalore.
The 2023–2024 Pro Kabaddi League was the tenth season of the Pro Kabaddi League, a franchise based kabaddi league in India. Jaipur Pink Panthers were the defending champions.
Arjun Deshwal (296) (Jaipur Pink Panthers)
