Puneri Paltan clinched their maiden title with a dominant win against Haryana Steelers in the Pro Kabaddi League 2024 final on Friday. Pankaj Mohite and Mohit Goyat dominated the arena to guide Pune to a record 28-25 win over Haryana at Hayderabad's GMC Balayogi Sports Complex.
After utter dominance in the PKL 10 league stages with 96 points, Puneri Paltan continued their impressive performance in the final. Pankaj Mohite bagged five early points to give Pune a narrow 13-10 lead in the first half and then claimed four more in the second half.
The Paltans took a lead with Sanket Sawant's tackle and then Pankaj broke the play with a 4-point raid. Both teams' defence was in top form with brilliant blocks and tackles. Manpreet Singh-led Haryana managed to make a late comeback in the first half by saving all out.
Haryana performed impressively in the second half with comparatively more raid points but Pune proved their superiority with two all out and four tackle points. Mohit Goyat's raiding gave the final all-out to Puneri Paltans in the early stages of the second half which was reflected in the final result.
Pankaj bagged the highest nine points for Pune while Shivam Patare was the best performer for Haryana with six points in the final.
Pune's Iranian all-rounder Mohammadreza Chiyaneh Shadloui claimed the season's Best Defender award while his teammate Aslam Inamdar won the Most Valuable Player title. Delhi's Ashu Malik won the Best Raider and Yogesh Dahiya clinched the Best NYP award for his performance in the tenth edition of the tournament.
PKL 10 final lineups:
Puneri Paltans starting seven: Aslam Mustafa, Abinesh Nadarajan, Sanket Sawant, Mohit Goyat, Pankaj Mohite, Gaurav Khatri, Mohammadreza Chiyaneh
Haryana Steelers starting seven: Vinay, Mohit Nandal, Jaideep Dahiya, Ashish, Shivam Patare, Rahul Sethpal, Mohit
