Pro Kabaddi League season 9 Semi-finalists Tamil Thalaivas have decided to extend the contract of Asian games gold medal winning head coach Ashan Kumar for another 2 years. He came to take the charge in the middle of season 9 following the sacking of former coach after a string of terrible results.
During the PKL season 9 auction, the Tamil Thalaivas broke the bank and registered the most expensive signing ever in the form of Pawan Sehrawat for 2.26 Crore INR. Expectations were going off the roof among Thalaivas fans as Sehrawat was the best Raider from the previous season with 304 raid points.
However, Pawan sustained an unfortunate injury in the very first match of season 9 which ruled him out of the entire season. That proved to be a blessing in disguise for another raider in Tamil Thalaiavas but they had a very poor start – losing their first 6 matches.
As a result, they were hanging at the bottom of PKL 9 standings and in came the management into the fore. They quickly sacked the current head coach and welcomed former Puneri Paltan man Ashan Kumar for the rest of the season.
The Asian Gold medalist transformed and re-invented the team completely. His man management skills were simply outstanding as he gave starts to young raider Narendar Kandola, who grew into a regular starter for the team and finished season 9 as the 4th best raider with 243 raid points.
It was under Ashan Kumar’s coaching that Tamil Thalaivas were able to reach the play-offs for the first time in their history. They finished 5th in the standings with 66 points but failed to reach the final. However, Tamil Thalaivas decision to keep Ashan Kumar until 2025 could deliver them an elusive PKL title.
