PKL 10: Who are the owners of Puneri Paltan?

Puneri Paltan is one of the oldest teams in the Pro Kabaddi League history. Based in Pune, their home venue is Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex. 

Talking about the owners of the team, Insurekot Sports bought the franchise in 2014. Insurekot Sports Private Limited is one of the popular companies which work towards promoting sports in the country. The company's main objective is to provide a platform for young sportspeople to train and perform with world-class infrastructure. 

They also run a campaign called 'Bol Kabaddi'. Through the initiative, they conduct various Kabaddi tournaments across schools, colleges and corporate levels. The major aim of these tournaments is to bring out the best of Kabaddi Talent in the country. 

In late 2014, they began 'Little Puneri Champs' to promote the game in classrooms. They are also doing their best to take the sport to the rural part of the country. 

Kailash Kandpal has been the Chief Executive Officer of Insurekot Sports Private Limited since October 2014. He is also the current manager of Puneri Paltan.

Sumanlal Babulal Shah, Rajesh Harkishandas Doshi, and Karthik Kumar Venkataraman Marshan are the founders of the company while the Puneri Paltan franchise is owned by Uday Kotak and his family. 

Talking about the 'Bol Kabaddi' initiative, Kailash Kandpal told Indian Education Diary that there are young talents in the country, and they often go unnoticed. The aim of the programme is to bring out such talent. 

"There is a wealth of untapped, young talent out there just waiting to be discovered. We intend to continue this tradition by holding such competitions each year", he said.

Puneri Paltan history in PKL

Puneri Paltan had a forgettable season at the start, winning just two matches in the PKL 1. They finished at the bottom of the table. Their inconsistency continued in the second season as well where they managed to win just two matches and ended in the final spot once again. 

The third season is one of their best yet. The team was able to put behind their poor performances in the first two seasons and make it to the playoffs. However, they lost to Patna Pirates in the semifinal. The franchise finished third in the season by defeating Bengal Warriors in the third-place knockout game. 

The fourth season saw them make it to the playoffs for the second time in a row. The team ended the league stage at number four. Once again, it was Patna Pirates who defeated them in the semifinal. However, the team went on to defeat Telugu Titans for the third-place match. Notably, this was one of the best seasons for Deepak Niwas Hooda.

Their woes against Patna Pirates continued in this edition as well. After making it to the playoffs for the third time in a row, they met Patna Pirates in the semi-final and lost once again. The team finished second in the Zone A points table. 

After three consistent years, the team failed to keep up with the other teams in seasons 6th and 7th. They failed to make it to the playoffs. They couldn't win more matches as they would've expected and most importantly, they had themselves to blame for the same.

Puneri Paltans managed to make an impact in the eighth season. They finished sixth in the league stages, making it to the Eliminators. However, UP Yoddhas defeated them in the Eliminator, and therefore, they weren't able to go the distance. 

Puneri Paltan almost pulled off a win over Jaipur Pink Panthers in the final of the last season. The team had a good run throughout the year. They finished second in the league stages, only behind Jaipur Pink Panthers. They met Tamil Thalaivas and won in the semi-final. In the final, they met Jaipur Pink Panthers and went down by 29-33.