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Kabaddi is an indigenously developed sport of India said to have originated in the contemporary state of Tamil Nadu. While some states - the likes of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Punjab, are still said to be the strongholds of the sport, the dynamic changes in the game and the introduction of the Pro Kabaddi has made this ancient sport a thing of common knowledge across the country.
Like wrestling, kabaddi is a sport that has been generally passed on from one generation to another in the rural belts of the country. So, it comes as no surprise when people from the same family rise up to represent the state or the country at bigger platforms.
Therefore we have seen such representation in PKL as well. As we lead up to Pro Kabaddi 2019, here's a list of four sibling duos who have made their way to the largest-franchise based kabaddi league in the world.
#4 Nitin Madane and Krushna Madane
Nitin Madane is the elder of the two siblings from Maharashtra. He made his PKL debut in the inaugural season and was tenth in the most raid points list with 101 raid points in his 12 appearances for the Bengal Warriors. He had to struggle against injuries and had to miss seasons 2 and 3.
The senior Madane made his comeback in season 4 where he played for U Mumba and he continued for the same side in season 5 as well.
Krushna, on the other hand, is a corner defender. Incidentally, he too made his PKL debut with the Bengal Warriors in season 3, where he featured in just a solitary match.
His breakthrough in PKL came in last season, season 6, where an injury to Vishal Bhardwaj gave Krushna an opportunity to showcase his skills as a left corner defender for the Telugu Titans. He scored 11 tackle points in his 6 appearances with an average of 1.83 tackle points per match.
He has been retained by the Titans this season, and would hope to get much more time on the mat to improve upon his previous season performance.
#3 Dharmaraj Gopu and Dharmaraj Cheralathan
The defender sibling-duo hail from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu and have been around the kabaddi circuit for quite a while now. Both brothers began their PKL journey with the inaugural season in 2014, but for different teams.
While D.Gopu made his debut with the Telugu Titans, Dharmaraj Cheralathan's services were acquired by the Bengaluru Bulls. Gopu got limited opportunities in the competition and he could amass just 51 points in the 34 matches he played in the PKL over a period of five seasons.
His elder brother Cheralathan, popularly known as 'Anna', had a much better outing, as he has scored a massive 256 points in his 99 appearances. He was also the captain of the champion Patna Pirates side in Season 4.
While Gopu went unsold in this year's auction, Cheralathan was acquired for a price of ₹38.5 lakh by the Haryana Steelers.
#2 Siddharth and Suraj Desai
Suraj Desai entered the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) in season 2 with the Jaipur Pink Panthers and then also featured in the Dabang Delhi K.C. squad for season 5, he is yet to make his PKL debut on the match.
On the other hand, Siddharth took the kabaddi world by storm with his stupendous performance in his debut season with the U Mumba last year. He became the fastest to reach 50 raid points in PKL history, in just 4 games.
Siddharth was one of the breakthrough stars of season 6 of PKL with 221 points in the 21 matches he played. His astounding average of 10.38 raid points per match was the third highest in the season.
For his terrific performance in his debut season, he became the costliest buy at this year's auctions at a price of ₹1.45 crores. The Telugu Titans, along with Siddharth, have also acquired the services of his brother, Suraj
#1 Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar Malik
Hailing from the small town of Bhainswal in the Sonepat district of Haryana, the Malik cousins Parvesh and Sunil have become one of the most sought after defenders in the Pro Kabaddi League.
Both brothers made their debut in season 4 - Sunil with the Patna Pirates and Parvesh with the Jaipur Pink Panthers. After a successful season, they were bought by the newly introduced Gujarat Fortunegiants' side.
The cover-duo under the guidance of coach Manpreet Singh and senior defenders - Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani, gave a stupendous performance to score a combined total of 105 tackle points, including five High-5s to take the Fortunegiants to the finals.
Appreciating his performance and level-headed game, Sunil was made the captain of the side in season 6, where he, along with Bhainswal, continued terrorizing the oppositions' raiders, and made it to their second consecutive finals.
Their consistent performance led to the Fortunegiants' management to retain Sunil Kumar and buy Bhainswal's services at a price of ₹75 lakh at the auctions.
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