CHENNAI: After two years, the city will grace top Kabaddi players and coaches, as the third leg of the Pro Kabaddi League 12 will start from Monday. With 24 matches set to take place, the leg will conclude on October 12. After two thrilling legs in Visakhapatnam and Jaipur, which have teams placed very closely in the points table, this leg is expected to be more exciting.
12 players from Tamil Nadu will get to play in front of a crowd which has backed the talent from Tamil Nadu.
On Monday, defending champions Haryana Steelers and Dabangg Delhi will lock horns. The Steelers would be happy to have someone like Jaya Soorya, their raider from the host state. "Playing in Chennai is always special because of the atmosphere and the energy of the home crowd. As a team, we have built great momentum with four consecutive wins in the last leg, and that confidence is high within the camp. We have five matches here, and our goal is to win them all. The fans in Tamil Nadu love kabaddi and support every good performance, and we'll give them everything to cheer for," he told this daily in an event marking the launch of the Chennai leg.
Abinesh Nadarajan of Puneri Paltan, who hails from Chennai, expressed his excitement. "We have had a good run so far in the tournament and are among the top three in the points table. We have a good side and this third leg in Chennai will be important for us to gain some useful points before going to Delhi (for the fourth leg of matches)," the defender remarked.
In four of Puneri Paltan's matches, one of them is against the home-side Tamil Thalaivas. "They (Thalaivas) will get maximum support. But the crowd here is positive and Chennai-based players' performance will be appreciated. For non-Tamil Thalaivas matches, I expect the crowd to support me in a big way," said Nadarajan.
For Bengaluru Bulls young defender Deepak Sankar, who is playing his first PKL tournament, the prospect of playing in Chennai brings him joy. "It would feel amazing to play in my home state. Even though I represent Bengaluru Bulls, the support from the Chennai crowd will surely motivate me to give my best on the mat," he said.
PKL Chairman looks forward to interesting ties
Anupam Goswami, League Chairman of PKL was hopeful that the Chennai leg will up the ante. "Tamil Nadu has always been one of the great kabaddi geographies of India, with a deep cultural and regional connection to the sport. Legends like Dharmaraj Cheralathan and K Baskaran carried that legacy, and now we see a new generation of young players proudly representing the region. This season has been exceptional with raiders delivering more Super 10s and multi-point raids than last season. The competitiveness has also been remarkable, with just six points separating the top-placed team from the team placed eighth on the points table," he said.
The Pro Kabaddi League Season 12 is being broadcast live on the Star Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar from 8pm onwards.
Tickets available on the official ticketing platform Zomato https://www.district.in/events/pkl-2025-chennai-team.
