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Starting off their campaign with high hopes in the first season of Star Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), the Bengal Warriors finished a disappointing seventh in the points table. They not only failed to qualify for the semi-finals, but their performance did nothing to lift the spirit of the fans.
The team belongs to the city of Kolkata and is owned by Future Group. They had an experienced campaigner as the captain in Nilesh Shinde, who apart from playing for the national team has represented Maharashtra and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). The team was coached by Raj Narain Sharma in the first season.
Out of the 14 matches played by the Bengal Warriors in the group stage, they won 4 matches, lost 9 and drew a solitary game. During their disappointing league campaign, they managed to gather just 24 points, pipping Puneri Paltan to the 7th spot. They played their home matches at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata.
The team had an array of talent in the form of Nilesh Shinde, Nitin Madane, Sachin Khambe, Mahesh Goud and Hitesh Patel while the foreigners like South Korean Jang Kun Lee adding the foreign touch to the team.
Raider Nitin Madane, with 101 points, was the shining light of the Warriors ending in 10th spot in the list of the top raiders of the first season. Jang Kun Lee and Mahesh Goud had performed well in the tournament too, finishing with 55 and 51 points respectively.
Captain Nilesh Shinde manned the defensive line for the team, collecting 28 points en route to finishing 11th in the best defenders list. Sachin Khambe supported his captain well, chipping in with 22 points.
Mixed start for Bengal Warriors
Overall the team had quite a disappointing tournament, as they were inconsistent and could not capitalize on the chances they got. They lost their first match of the season 36-25 to U Mumba, played at the NSCI Indoor Stadium, Mumbai.
Starting off their journey with a loss was not something they would have wanted, and things didn’t improve as they lost 46-30 to Bengaluru Bulls in their first match at home. However, things took a positive turn when they fought hard and prevailed over Dabang Delhi to scrape through to a 42-40 to get their first win. Riding on the recent win, they got the better of Puneri Paltan 38-35 at home.
But, they could not keep up the momentum losing their first match at home to finalists U Mumba 38-29 and they were soundly beaten by Dabang Delhi, 46-36, at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium in Delhi in their next match.
Continuing their run of indifferent results, they won 40-35 against Telugu Titans in Patna, but in their next 3 matches, they lost to Puneri Paltan and twice to Jaipur Pink Panthers. They ended their league campaign with another loss, this time 37-24 to Bengaluru Bulls.
Bengal Warriors would do well to avoid a repeat of last season. Starting their campaign with the team they lost in their last match – Bengaluru Bulls – they would be eager to get revenge and win over the fans.
