Pro Kabaddi League: Dabang Delhi - A resilient team
Dabang Delhi seemed to be the pertinent jumble of determination and fortitude. Embellished with an eclectic team of able raiders and competent defenders, they were not bereft of talent or potential. The team funded by ‘Do It Sports Management’, which is headed by Radha Kapoor, played their home matches at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex, Delhi.
The squad, from the national capital, boasted of a well-rounded team and was coached by Arjun Singh. Jasmer Singh was given the responsibility to lead the team which, along with a pan India congregation had two international stars. Dong Ju Hong from South Korea and Takamitsu Kono of Japan brought the foreign flavour in the team.
Contrary to all the hype and anticipation, Dabang Delhi started on a sad note – with just a solitary win from their opening 5 matches. This indifferent start prompted coach Arjun Singh to comment: “I faced problems initially to gel up the team as each player was from different state or countries. But, now everyone has got to know each other and is looking forward to giving a good performance in front of the home crowd.”
Jasmer Singh, the 78-kg all-rounder was the man to watch out for from the team. Kashiling Adake, who made an unassuming foray into the game, too proved to be a valuable asset for the team. Being a raider, the onus was on him to gather the points for the team and he duly delivered, returning with 113 points to finish in 5th spot of the top raiders list alongside teammate Surjeet Narwal.
In their first match, they took on Bengaluru Bulls and were given a harsh welcome as they meekly surrendered 28-47. Despite the opening loss for the team, impressive raids from Kashiling Adake and Surjeet Narwal, who gathered 6 and 5 points, respectively, provided a ray of hope. They came back strongly in the second match, getting their act together against Puneri Paltan, who finished bottom of the table at the end of the season, by 35-31. Again, the indomitable spirit of the top raiders of the team – Adake, 5 points, and Narwal, with 13 points, helped clinch the victory.
A run of defeats followed their win over Pune as the league shifted to Delhi and the home team managed just a single win at home despite a ferocious crowd support. Narrow losses to Telugu Titans, 42-40, and Patna Pirates, 36-31, were followed by another defeat, this time at the hands of eventual champions, Jaipur Pink Panthers, by a convincing 40-31 scoreline.
A resilient Delhi came back strongly in the second half of the league stage
They beat Bengal Warriors 46-36 in their final home match to give the crowd something to cheer about. Adake and Narwal with 14 and 11 points respectively shined once again. This win prompted a 4-match unbeaten run, which started with the win at home to Bengal and was followed by their first draw of the tournament against Patna Pirates. They got the better of semi-finalists, Bengaluru Bulls and U Mumba in their next two matches.
However, just when it appeared that Dabang Delhi could confirm a place in the semi-finals, they were brought back down to Earth by Telugu Titans in Vizag, who hammered the away side 45-26. Their next defeat came at the hands of Jaipur Pink Panthers and U Mumba got their revenge in Bengaluru with a scoreline of 37-30.
Despite crashing out of the tournament before the league stage ended, they managed to summon a final effort annihilating Puneri Paltans 45-22 in their final match. With 5 wins, 8 losses and a solitary draw, the team from the national capital finished 6th a good 13 points behind 4th placed Patna Pirates. Jasmer Singh finished as the third best defender in season 1 with 39 points while Ravinder Singh, with 31 points, and Amit Singh, 29, aided their captain in defence.
Though the team went on an oscillating journey, nothing seemed to deter the team from coming back strongly from disappointments. They were indeed a team that displayed a tremendous amount of resilience. However, they need to find some consistency if they wish to better their performance from last season and qualify for the semi-finals at least.