The season 9 final of vivo Pro Kabaddi was held at the NSCI SVP Stadium Dome in Mumbai on Saturday. This is the third consecutive PKL final appearance for the Jaipur Pink Panthers, who are looking for their second title after winning their first in 2014. Jaipur Pink Panthers and Puneri Paltan played a close match. The Jaipur Pink Panthers made sure they stayed ahead for most of the game, eventually defeating Puneri Paltan 33-29 to become champions. The Jaipur Pink Panthers are currently led by Sunil Kumar Malik and coached by Sanjeev Baliyan. The team is owned by Abhishek Bachchan.
Table of Contents
Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Puneri Paltan
In the first 18 minutes of the opening half, the two teams effectively offset each other’s raids to bring the score closer. That is, until V Ajith Kumar broke through the Puneri defense. The Panthers led 14-12 at the end of the half.
The Panthers tackled Aditya Shinde and caused an All-Out in the 22nd minute to take a big 18-13 lead. It was the only All-Out of the game and ultimately proved to be decisive and put pressure on Paltan.
Thereafter, Badal Singh attacked V Ajith Kumar and Aditya Shinde executed a raid, but Puneri Paltan still could not find a way to equalize the score. The Panthers played their cards perfectly in the final seconds of the game to win their second professional kabaddi title.
| Top Performers | Jaipur Pink Panthers | Puneri Paltan |
| Best Raider | Arjun Deshwal (6 Raid Points) | Aditya Shinde (5 Raid Points) |
| Best Defender | Sunil Kumar (5 Tackle Points) | Abinesh Nadarajan (4 Tackle Points) |
Award winners from the Final
| Perfect Player of the Final | Sunil Kumar (Pink Panthers) |
| Game Changer of the Final | V Ajit Kumar (Pink Panthers) |
| Moment of the Final | Ankush Rathee (Pink Panthers) |
| Move of the Final | V Ajit Kumar (Pink Panthers) |
| Perfect Moment of the Final | Sunil Kumar (Pink Panthers) |
Award Winners of vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 9
MVP – Arjun Deshwal ( Jaipur Pink Panthers )
Arjun Deshwal was the standout of the Raiders this term, deservedly earning the honor of Most Valuable Player of the 9th season. In 24 games, he scored a period-high 296 raid points accounting for 57.03% of Jaipur’s total raid points, which shows how much of an impact he had on the team. He also scored 17 Super 10s among all players, ranking first in both raid points and Super 10s.
Arjun Deshwal, 23, the second-ranked raider in PKL 8, raised the bar this time and played a major role in the Jaipur Pink Panthers’ ninth season success. He has been in fine form in the 9th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League and has led the Panthers to their second title after a winning first season in 2014. Being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player added a touch of glamour to his cap.
Top Raider of Season 9 – Bharat ( Bengaluru Bulls )
Bharat quickly emerged as the Bengaluru Bulls’ go-to raider in his 9th period as a specialist kabaddi. The prolific raider finished the period as the second-best raider in raid scoring and also was named the raider of the period with 279 raid points in 23 video games.
Top Defender of the Season 9 – Ankush ( Jaipur Pink Panthers )
Making his expert kabaddi debut, Ankush has been a fish out of water in the league. In spite of having protective stalwarts like captain Sunil Kumar on the group, Ankush was the greatest racking up tackler in the league with 89 tackles, making him the best linebacker of the period. Ankush had the most tackles for loss of any linebacker in his very first period. His 9 High 5s in his ninth period were one of the most of any type of defender, and also he additionally registered 5 outstanding tackles.
New Young Player – Narender ( Tamil Thalaivas )
Narender showed his potential right from the start as he scored a super 10 in his first in house pro kabaddi game. He created history in Vivo Pro Kabaddi season 9 by becoming the first raider ever to score the most raid points (243) in his debut season in PKL.
| Most Valuable Player | Arjun Deshwal (Pink Panthers) | Rs 20 lakh |
| Top Raider | Bharat (Bengaluru Bulls) | Rs 15 lakh |
| Top Defender | Ankush (Pink Panthers) | Rs 15 lakh |
| New Young Player | Narender (Tamil Thalaivas) | Rs 8 lakh |