Grateful for the support received from fans over the last 10 years: Pardeep Narwal

Ahead of the milestone 10th season of PKL, Ace Raider Pardeep Narwal says, “Season 10 should be a massive milestone and we all expect the tournament to be a great one. This is a big year for the tournament, and it is fantastic that we will be going back to all the 12 cities during the competition.”

UP Yoddhas’ Pardeep Narwal in action.

Khel Today Bureau 

Mumbai: Kabaddi has always had a strong connection with the people of India and today, the sport has millions of fans from around the world. With the advent of the Pro Kabaddi League, the game has grown to another level over the last nine years as the organizers of the league packaged the sport brilliantly for television by introducing unique innovations to the game and more importantly, the players have gone on to become role models over the last nine seasons of PKL!

As the Pro Kabaddi League is on the cusp of completing its landmark tenth season this year and it’s time to celebrate the glorious journey. As we build towards the landmark edition, PKL will be looking back at some of the biggest moments through the PKL MVP’s Special Memories content series. Each of the players who have won the Most Valuable Player Award will speak about how PKL has changed their lives.

One of the most loved Kabaddi players in the country, Pardeep Narwal, is one of the deadliest raiders in the game, and has been scoring plenty of points every season. Pardeep is currently the raider with the most raid points in the history of PKL with 1568 raid points in 153 matches to his name. Narwal, who turned out for the UP Yoddhas in Season 9, has been retained for the upcoming season.

Looking back at the previous seasons, Narwal, who walked away with the Most Valuable Player award in Seasons 4 and 5, said, “PKL over the last 9 years has really changed our lives and careers. PKL has helped and ensured that more people now know about us, and it has given us a lot.”

Having jumped onto the PKL bandwagon in Season 2, Narwal has entertained fans and stunned opposition defences with regularity, and ahead of the iconic 10th Season, he has his blinkers on and is focussed on the top prize.

“Season 10 should be a massive milestone and we all expect the tournament to be a great one. This is a big year for the tournament, and it is fantastic that we will be going back to all the 12 cities during the competition,” he said.

Taking a walk down the memory lane to his most emphatic seasons, dubki king, Narwal said, “By the time the fourth and fifth season came by, my career had already started off decently, and I was doing my best to build on that. One of the biggest factors for the success that I have had are the coaches, they have really helped me a lot, and I have been able to improve on my game thanks to their inputs. My family, especially, my father had supported me a lot in the initial years, and that also was a big boost personally.”

In season 4, Narwal bagged 133 points, while in the next season, he really cranked it up, walking away with a tally of 369 points, all of which came from attacking moves. Narwal hasn’t really looked back after that, and has been one of the most effective raiders in the tournament.

The 10th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League is slated to begin on the 2nd December 2023 in Ahmedabad.