Pro Kabaddi League season 9 has picked up the pace and 69 matches have already been played. Over the years, the top-tier Kabaddi tournament has provided a lot of excitement to the fans and scope for so many Kabaddi aspirants. Since PKL’s inception in 2014, this fast paced sport has gained a lot of popularity in the Sub-continent as well as in countries across the world.
In the previous seasons and in this one too, there are players that come from countries like Iran, Korea and Bangladesh. However, majority of the players come from remote areas or villages from across India and in this article, Sportzcraazy will highlight the top 5 states that garners the top kabaddi talents.
1. Himachal Pradesh – The North-Indian state is on course to become one of the unstoppable force especially in Women’s kabaddi. During the 66th Senior National Women’s Kabaddi championship, Himachal remained undefeated throughout the tournament through their dominant and fearless approach. In terms of Men’s kabaddi, the Mountainous state has given a number of influential players to Pro Kabaddi League. PKL legend Ajay Thakur is one of those players. Thakur finished his PKL career with 794 raid points to his name while playing for teams like Bengaluru Bulls, Puneri Paltan, Tamil Thalaivas and Dabang Delhi K.C. He is also among the Top 10 raiders of all time in Pro Kabaddi League history. In 1700 raids, Thakur has had 23 Super raids, 29 Super 10s with a raid success rate of 38%. U Mumba captain and defender Surinder Singh is another player coming from Himachal Pradesh. He has been active in PKL since season 5 playing for U Mumba and also played for Telegu Titans last year before Mumba brought him back. Surinder has been vital for the team as he has a total of 28 tackle points this season and maintained a Tackle strike rate of 53%. Last but not the least Telegu Titans defender Vishal Bhardwaj also shares the same origin as Ajay Thakur and Surinder Singh. Bhardwaj has been a loyal servant of Titans since making his debut in 2016. In 92 PKL matches Vishal has managed to score 266 tackle points including 18 High 5s and 27 Super tackles with a tackle success rate of 47%.
2. Uttar Pradesh – Uttar Pradesh’s Kabaddi team won the 36th National games held over a month ago. One of the most renowned names hailing from UP is Rahul Chaudhari, who was once the poster boy of the sport as well as the Pro Kabaddi League. Rahul has been active in PKL since season 1 and he is the first raider to reach raid points of 500, 700 and 800. In 140 PKL matches the UP raider has raided 2186 times bringing back 1003 raid points with a raid success rate of 38%. He also notched 24 Super raids and 40 Super 10s. In terms of defense, Chaudhari has 60 tackle points. Another player hailing from the same region is Titans’ raider Abhishek Singh. He was also a part of the UP team alongside Rahul Chaudhari that won the National games. Abhishek has played 64 games scoring 393 raid points including 8 super raids and 19 Super 10s. Achin Kumar, Aniruddh, Arun Gulveer Singh, Rohit Baliyan Harendra Kumar, Nitin tomor, Sachin Kumar, Sandeep Kumar and Vijay kumar are also some of the players coming from Uttar Pradesh.
3. Maharashtra – The West Indian state reached all the way to the finals of the National games held this year but failed to win it. They were against Rahul Chaudhari’s Uttar Pradesh. Maharashtra are also the first Indian state to organize an Inter-state Kabaddi tournament in 2015 for both Men and Women. Players like Kashiling Adake, Girish Maruti Ernak, Rishank Devadiga, Aslam Inamdar and Akash Shinde all come from Maharashtra. Girish Maruti Ernak has been playing in PKL since season 1 playing for teams like Patna Pirates, Gujarat Giants, Puneri Paltan and Bengal Warriors. In the on-going PKL season 9, Girish has been able to score 35 tackle points. Aslam Inamdar, meanwhile was a part of the Maharashtra team during the 36th National games. He is currently one of the crucial players for Puneri Paltan and he made his PKL debut only last year. This year Inamdar has scored 94 raid points.
4. Tamil Nadu – The South Indian state are the inventors of the word “Kabaddi”. Tamil Nadu has helped Kabaddi to progress in the country by giving a number of talented Kabaddi players. The state has given a lot of coaches too like Dharamraj Cheralathan and K Baskaran are one of the most successful coaches in Pro Kabaddi League.
5. Haryana – The surname ‘Narwal’ has long been associated with Indian Kabaddi. Haryana players and coaches are the driving factors behind various PKL teams. Every season, more than 50 Haryana players find their way into one of the 12 franchises. Even cricket takes a back place in Haryana to Kabaddi. Sonepat hosts a number of Kabaddi tournaments with large attendance counts. These events serve as a breeding ground for future stars. Haryana has also been a formidable force in the National Games, fighting for top honours alongside the Services and Railways teams.
Also Read – PKL Season 9 : Key updates and Stats from Matchday 29
