Devank shone bright as Bengal Warriorz bounced back in style with a thrilling win over Telugu Titans in a tie-breaker in the Pro Kabaddi League, in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Hosts Bengal Warriors put up an amazing display to bounce back from behind and upset defending champions Jaipur Pink Panthers in a thrilling finish to open their tally, while Bengaluru Bulls defeated Patna Pirates for their second win of the Pro Kabaddi League in Kolkata.
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.
The organisers will announce fresh dates for the player auction in consultation with the PKL teams and broadcasters.
In other matches on the day, Telegu Titans and Tamil Thalaivas finished the match at 40-40, while U Mumba beat Bengaluru Bulls 46-30.
Riding on captain Rahul Chaudhari's superb last minute raid, Telugu Titans produced a spectacular recovery to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat against Bengal Warriors for their third successive win in the Pro Kabaddi League at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.
The Patna Pirates used their FBM card to retain South Korean raider Jang Kun Lee at Rs 20.5 lakh, the release said.
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.
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).
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.
The Bachchan family were out in full force but despite even their presence could not prevent their team Jaipur Pink Panthers from going down to hosts U Mumba in the opening game of the Star Sports Pro-Kabaddi League on a rousing note at the NSCI Stadium in Mumbai, on Saturday.
The strength of teams has been bolstered from 14 during the inaugural edition last year to 25.
Michal Spiczko has not even stepped on the kabaddi mat is is already making waves.
Patna Pirates stamped their authority to record a 31-28 victory over U Mumba in the final and claim their maiden Star Sports Pro Kabaddi title in New Delhi on Saturday.
'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.