Continuing their winning streak, U Mumba downed hosts Bengal Warriors 29-25 for their fifth win on the trot, while Dabang Delhi pipped Puneri Paltan by one point to open their tally in the Pro Kabaddi League at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.
Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju called upon all the Asian countries to come together to ensure Kabaddi's inclusion in the Olympics. Rijiju addressed over 700 kabaddi coaches from all over India and from other countries, including Korea and Malayasia at the Online Coaches Knowledge Enhancement session organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
Naveen Kumar was brilliant once again with 18 raid points for Delhi but uncharacteristic errors cost their title hopes in front of a packed audience, including Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, at the EKA Arena by TransStadia.
World Championships bronze medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg) and GeeBee Boxing silver medallist Dinesh Dagar (69kg) confirmed their places in the final, while Ankush Dahiya (64kg) and Ananta Pralhad Chopade (52kg) made it to the semi-finals.
The Pro Kabaddi player auction netted a consolidated price of Rs 46.99 crore for 227 players selected over two days of intense bidding between 12 franchises.
Dabang Delhi shot into top four after thrashing hosts Bengal Warriors while Bengaluru Bulls scripted a fine comeback in the second half to hand Puneri Paltan their fourth successive loss in the Pro Kabaddi League at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.
The strength of teams has been bolstered from 14 during the inaugural edition last year to 25.
The Pro Kabaddi League will now have 12 teams, over 130 matches and 13 weeks of competition.
'At a time when sports leagues are often smothered by the allure of spurious glamour, it is easy to forget what makes them so exciting in the first place: The sport itself.' 'At its core, the PKL has a fast-paced, engaging sport working for it.' 'Simply put, kabaddi, with its end-to-end action and oscillating fortunes, is almost never dull to watch,' says Dhruv Munjal.
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