PKL Season 11 Playoffs Kick Off With Top 6 Coaches Praising Young Stars

It is time for Battle Royale, the biggest year-end sporting spectacle in India. PKL Season 11’s Playoffs week is all set to commence on December 26 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Pune.

In the fray for the top prize are Haryana Steelers and UP Yoddhas, both of whom have never won the title, and along with them are three-time champions Patna Pirates, Season 8 winners Dabang Delhi K.C., Season 1 & 9 title holders Jaipur Pink Panthers, and Season 2 champions U Mumba, who sealed qualification for the playoffs with the last game of the league stage. The playoff race going to the last match of the league stage is a testament to how competitive this season has been, setting the stage for an exciting final week for season 11.

Ahead of a week that is set to celebrate the sport of Kabaddi in more ways than one, the six coaches, Manpreet Singh (Haryana Steelers), Joginder Narwal (Dabang Delhi K.C.), Jasveer Singh (UP Yoddhas), Narender Redhu (Patna Pirates), Gholamreza Mazandarani (U Mumba) and Sanjeev Baliyan (Jaipur Pink Panthers) spoke at length at the Panga Roundtable, and touched upon various aspects of PKL Season 11. Staying true to the “Fan First” approach that has become synonymous with the PKL, also present at the engaging Panga Roundtable were the Super Fans, who made their presence felt.

Table toppers Haryana Steelers, who are through to the Semi-finals, are gunning for their first PKL title, and coach Manpreet Singh, who was full of praise for the Show-Stopper Mohammadreza Shadloui, said, “The Haryana Steelers team is like a family. The players are all like my younger brothers, and we will work together, and leave no stone unturned when we play our Semi-final. Having qualified for the Semi-final directly is a source of great motivation for the team before the final week, and for Haryana, a state which has won so many medals in other sports, it is the PKL title that remains elusive, and hopefully, we can win it.”

The Dabang Delhi K.C. have been one of the best teams this season and have stitched together a 15-match unbeaten streak, which helped them secure the second position on the points table. Having qualified for the Semi-final already, coach Joginder Narwal, who won the PKL title as a skipper in Season 8, spoke about the bond between his two co-captains – Ashu Malik and Naveen Kumar. He said, “I have played with both Ashu and Naveen in the previous years in the PKL itself, and they are like best friends. The two of them have great chemistry and always stick together, and that bond is visible on the mat too. The team is like a complete family, and going into the playoffs, they are all fit and in form.”

The UP Yoddhas, who had to go back to the drawing board before the season began, has seen their young raiders and the defence step up in style. Coach Jasveer Singh said, “The team lost a couple of big players, but the core of the team remained together, and have worked hard as well.” When asked about how well his side has closed out a few tight contests, the coach explained, “Winning closely fought matches is not easy and it is more of a habit which one has to develop over time. We always train accordingly, so that on the matchday, the players know how to deal with the situation and the pressure.”

Three-time champions Patna Pirates’ Narender Redhu heaped praise on the dynamic and dangerous duo of Devank and Ayan, who have taken to the big stage like fish does to water. “Before the start of PKL Season 11, in our camps, we could see that Devank and Ayan will form a formidable pair for us as raiders. We had also seen them playing in other tournaments, and we are lucky in a way that they are both in our squad, and we have given them the freedom to play, and they have grabbed their opportunity with both hands.”

Catch all the LIVE action from Pro Kabaddi Season 11 on the Star Sports Network and on Disney+ hotstar.