Pro Kabaddi: 2 teams which have won just 1 match in the entire season
Pro Kabaddi started in the year 2014, with the aim of bringing about a revolution in the Indian sport. The league achieved its goal in the first few seasons, with kabaddi gaining enormous popularity in some of the top Indian cities.
Later tonight (March 1), the 10th season of the PKL will come to an end with a final match between Puneri Paltan and Haryana Steelers. These two teams are just one win away from lifting their maiden Pro Kabaddi trophy.
While Pune and Haryana are on the cusp of winning their first title, there have been a couple of teams in PKL history which managed to win just a solitary game in the entire tournament.
For the record, the PKL organizers planned 14 matches per team in the league round of the first four seasons. From Season 5 onwards, the number of league matches went up to 22, because of the addition of four new franchises.
Considering that all teams are pretty evenly matched, it is rare to see a team fail so many times in the same season and return with just one win. However, the following two franchises have achieved this unwanted feat.
#1 Telugu Titans won only 1 match in Pro Kabaddi Season 8
Telugu Titans recently leveled Tamil Thalaivas' record for finishing at the bottom of the points table for the most number of times. The Titans never finished last in the first seven seasons, but they have taken the wooden spoon home in the last three editions of the PKL.
This streak started in Season 8, where they won only one match. The Titans played 22 matches, registering one victory, 17 defeats and four ties. They finished 12th in the 12-team standings with just 27 points to their name.
The Titans had big names like Siddharth Desai, Rohit Kumar, C. Arun, and Surinder Singh in their squad. Still, their only win came against the Jaipur Pink Panthers, whom they defeated by a slim margin of one point.
The Telugu franchise played many close games that season and could have finished much higher in the standings had they kept their nerves in some games.
#2 Dabang Delhi KC won just 1 match in Pro Kabaddi Season 3
The first team to achieve this unwanted record was Dabang Delhi KC. The Delhi-based franchise won the eighth edition of the PKL, but back in Season 3, they could only manage a solitary victory in the entire tournament.
Dabang Delhi KC played 14 matches, registering one win, 12 losses and one tie. They only had 11 points in their kitty as they took the wooden spoon home.
It is pertinent to note that Dabang Delhi KC's raiders Kashiling Adake and Surjeet Singh were among the top 10 raiders of that season. Even defender Sandeep Kumar Dhull was 10th on the defenders' leaderboard. Still, the Dabangs only defeated the Bengaluru Bulls in that tournament.
In 10 years of Pro Kabaddi, no team has ever ended a season without winning a game. It will be interesting to see if all franchises continue to avoid the dubious record.