Making of the Giants

As Season 7 of the Pro Kabaddi League kicked off on Saturday, all eyes were on Gujarat Fortune Giants, the team that surprised everyone by beating established and seasoned teams to reach the finals in both the seasons that it has been a part of so far.

Though the team from Gujarat fell just short at the final hurdles, it won many a hearts through its fearless play. The team, however, wants to leave the disappointment behind, and has set its sights on winning the trophy in its third attempt.

The team has star players such as, Sachin, Sunil and Parvesh who are top most players of kabaddi, and led by coaches Manpreet Singh and Neer Gulia, there is certainly no dearth of firepower to go one step further this time.

With a perfect balance of experienced players such as Captain Sunil Kumar, Paresh Bhainswal and Sachin Tanwar, and young and exciting talents in the form of Sonu Gahlawat, Sumit Malik, Ankit Bhainswal, and others, none of the teams in the Pro Kabaddi League can afford to take the Giants lightly.

So how has Adani Wilmar, the team owner with no sporting background or history, achieved this success in so little time? The answer is quite simple. The owners have a hands-on approach, and even while being closely involved in planning and preparation, they have ensured a free hand to the coaches and captain. The hands-on approach has also paved the way for establishing an atmosphere sans the senior-junior divide in the team.

Another area where Giants score over others is adoption of technology. In fact, Sanjay Adesara, CEO of Gujarat Fortune Giants, can be credited with introducing analytical software in kabaddi. The software is commonplace in sports like football, but Giants were the first to use it in kabaddi.

In an interview, Sanjay Adesara stressed that the use of technology had allowed Giants to zero in on the gaps and holes in the rival teams’ plays, and the team was able to devise its strategies accordingly.

To say that tech has played a big role in their emergence as a kabaddi force would hardly be an overstatement. That other teams have also been forced to follow the Giants in using technology speaks volumes about its success.

The Giants’ strategy to invest in younger players, instead of spending huge bucks on big and famous names, has also paid rich dividends to the team. Unlike some of the other teams, whose performance mainly revolves around one or two star players, the Giants focused on grooming the younger players for the big stage by providing them the support, infrastructure and equipment to take on the very best in the business. The likes of Sunil Kumar, Sachin Tanwar, and Paresh Bhainswal, who can now walk into any of the other PKL teams on the basis of their performance, bear a testimony to the success of this strategy.

Customised training methods for players, to hiring foreign physio and support staff, the owners have left no stone unturned to ensure that the squad remains injury-free.

No sport is complete without fans, and through their performance and outreach efforts, Giants have built a dedicated fan base. The Giants are also promoting kabaddi at the grassroots level through initiatives like Little Giants and Yuva Giants, which are aimed at identifying kabaddi talent and to groom them for the future. The strategy to rope in actors such as Malhar Thakar and Aarohi Patel, as well as fitness celebrities such as Sapna Vyas Patel, have also been highly successful in the Giants’ strategy to connect with fans.

Coming back to the team, the Giants are eager to show that their show in Seasons 5 and 6 was a result of hard work and planning, and not because of a stroke of luck. How can they do it? By lifting the trophy and justifying the faith in them!

Throwback

In Season 5 of Pro Kabaddi League in 2017, their debut season, Gujarat Fortune Giants won 16 matches, lost five, and drew three matches.

The team scored 775 points, while conceding 641 points, the lowest among all the teams.

The Giants faced off against Patna Pirates in the final, which they lost 38-55.

In Season 6 in 2018, the Giants won 17 matches, lost three, and two were drawn.

The team scored 876 points, the second highest among the 12 teams, and conceded 769 points, the seventh lowest in the League.

The Giants battled the Bengaluru Bulls in the final, and ended agonizingly short in their quest for the trophy losing the match by a narrow margin of 33-38.

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