PKL 10: Who are the owners of Gujarat Giants?

Gujarat Giants are formerly known as Gujarat Fortune Giants. The men's Kabaddi team is based in Ahmedabad. The current owner of the team is Adani Wilmar Limited. The team's home venue is The Arena by TransStadia. The team's captain is seasoned raider Chandran Ranjit. He is assisted by defender Rinku Narwal. 

The team is one of the consistent performers in the Pro Kabaddi League. The Ahmedabad-based franchise had a good start to their Pro Kabaddi League where they reached the final in the first two seasons.

Talking about the owners of the franchise, Adani Group is a diversified business organization with a presence in ports, logistics, energy, utility, and infrastructure. The group's vision is to bring growth to the country. 

The Adani Group began Adani Sportsline in 2019 "to inculcate a culture of sports that nurtures sporting talent, accelerates the sports economy, and plays the role of an enabler in India's journey to become a leading sporting nation".

While TK Kannan serves as the company's CEO, Pranav Adani serves as its managing director.

As a result, Sportsline has managed to invest in several sports, including cricket, Kho-kho, and Kabaddi amongst others. 

They own the Gujarat Giants women's team in the Women's Premier League and a kho-kho team in the same name. 

Also, the Adani Sportsline has founded India's top marathon dedicated to the welfare of the Armed Forces named Adani Ahmedabad Marathon.

They also run a program named Garv Hai, which aims to develop India's next generation of sporting champions and support them on their journey.

History of Gujarat Giants in the PKL
Gujarat Giants are one of the newly formed Kabaddi franchises in the Pro Kabaddi League. They were formerly known as Gujarat Fortune Giants. The team debuted in the 2017 season, and the franchise impressed immediately. They won 16 out of their 24 matches and ended the league stage at the top of Zone A. Eventually, the team ended the tournament as the runners-up to Patna Pirates. 

In the sixth season, the team finished first in Zone A with 17 wins and 3 losses from their 22 games. However, the team failed to win the finals once again. This time, they lost to Bengaluru Bulls. 

In the 7th season, the team failed to make it to the knock-outs. They managed only 7 wins from 22 matches and had 36.36 per cent win in the season. 

In the PKL 8, They did well compared to the seventh season. The franchise won 10 out of 22 games, finishing in the 4th spot. However, they couldn't make it to the next round. Gujarat Giants finished 8th in the 9th season with just 9 wins from 22 games. 

For the upcoming season, the team is expected to make several changes. In fact, they have already begun scouting under the coach Ram Mehar. 

The team has been working hard behind the scenes and has already conducted trials in both Chennai and Delhi. The final stages of the trials will take place in Ahmedabad. They are looking to lock in four new players under the New Young Players Programme. 

Talking about the process, "The Gujarat Giants are looking to sign up players who we can take straight into the tournament this year. We are looking to fill the slots in the squads. Since the Pro Kabaddi League has started, the New Young Players programme has unearthed very impactful players and it has gone on to help the sport in India," the coach said. 

The coach also spoke about the support of the Gujarat Giants franchise and The Adani Group. He said that the Adani Group has been investing in young players in sports.

"They are always looking to encourage sports and sportspersons, and it is also nice to see that they are not only looking at results in the league but also trying to improve the sport of Kabaddi in Gujarat", he said.