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Gholamreza Mazandarani has been named the head coach of U Mumba in Pro Kabaddi 2023. Following this, the season 2 champions also announced the signing of KC Suthar as coach and U Mumba legend Jeeva Kumar as defense coach. The Mumbai-based franchise took to Instagram on Wednesday, August 9, to make the announcement.
Anil Chaprana was the head coach of U Mumba in the 2022 season. Under his guidance, a young U Mumba squad finished ninth in the points table with 10 wins from 22 matches.
With U Mumba not making it to the playoffs, the team owners decided to make some changes to the management group. Earlier this year, Suhail Chandhok joined the franchise as its new CEO, and now Mazandarani has been appointed as the head coach.
Gholamreza will be assisted by KC Suthar, an experienced coach who was seen coaching the Iranian national kabaddi team at the Kabaddi World Cup in 2016. He has unearthed multiple talents like Manpreet Singh and Rakesh Kumar.
Having won the title with U Mumba in season 2, Jeeva Kumar returns to his old franchise to serve as the defense coach, in a move that was largely welcomed by the Mumbai side's fans, fondly known as the Mandali.
U Mumba CEO Suhail Chandhok was pleased after the announcement and extended a warm welcome to their formidable coaching trio, hoping that they can work together to restore the franchise's glory.
"We are delighted to welcome back Gholam along with Suthar ji and also welcome back an old U Mumba family member and icon in Jeeva," said Suhail. "Over the years we have witnessed Coaches who have worked together as a pair and guided teams to success in the league."
U Mumba won the second edition of Pro Kabaddi League, but have since failed to achieve any success. The Mumbai-based franchise will aim to join Patna Pirates and Jaipur Pink Panthers in the elite club of teams with more than one PKL championship by winning the 10th season.
Who is Gholamreza Mazandarani? All you need to know about U Mumba's new head coach
Gholamreza has been the head coach of U Mumba before as well. He was the team's head coach in the 2018 season, where the team finished second in the Zone A points table and qualified for the playoffs.
After that, Gholamreza moved to the Telugu Titans in 2019. The Titans had a forgettable season under his guidance as they finished 11th in the standings, managing just six victories from 22 matches.
It will be exciting to see how U Mumba perform in the upcoming season. They have retained the likes of Surinder Singh, Jai Bhagwan, Rinku, and Heiderali Ekrami ahead of the auction.
