Super Kabaddi League (SKL) is a professional-level

kabaddi Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...

league in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Its inaugural season was played from May 1 to May 10, 2018 in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. This league follows a city-based franchise model. More than a 100 Kabaddi players from Pakistan and abroad were presented in the players' draft, which took place on 23 April 2018 in Lahore. International players from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

participated in the inaugural edition.

Draft

Drafting of the inaugural season took place on 23 April 2018, with each of the ten franchises given an opportunity to pick a roster of 10 players, which included 2 Platinum, 7 Gold and 1 Foreign player pick.

Opening ceremony

The formal opening ceremony of the league took place on 1 May 2018 at

Alhamra Cultural Complex Alhamra Arts Council (also known as the Alhamra Hall, Alhamra Cultural Complex, Alhamra Art Gallery and Lahore Arts Council Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. Film actress-cum-director/producer

Reema Khan Reema Khan ( ur, ) born Sameena Khan ( ur, ), known mononymously as Reema, is a Pakistani television host and former stage dancer, Lollywood film actress, director and producer. Khan was one of the leading film actresses in Pakistan during 1 ...

was the host of the opening ceremony. Singers

Nabeel Shaukat Ali Nabeel Shaukat Ali (; born 29 August 1989) is a Pakistani singer. He was the winner of ''Sur Kshetra'', a singing talent show – the musical battle between teams of two neighboring countries: Pakistan and India aired simulcast on Geo TV, Sah ...

and

Sara Raza Khan Sara Raza Khan also known as Sara Raza, is a Pakistani singer who started her singing career on the television program '' Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009''. She is the winner of the Pakistani reality show ''Bright Star''. She also participated i ...

performed during the ceremony. This was the first time that a sports related event of such a scale had been organised in the country. The event was open for all to attend. It was attended by people from all walks of life as well team owners, officials of the

Pakistan Kabaddi Federation The Pakistan Kabaddi Federation PKF is the national governing body to develop and promote the sport of kabaddi in Pakistan. The federation manages the Pakistan national kabaddi team. History The federation was formed in 1964 in Islamabad. It i ...

and many others. The ceremony included several performances, which included Bakhshi Brothers, who also sang one of the songs for Season 1.

Teams and locations

Broadcast

SKL was broadcast live on television. The broadcast partner was

PTV Sports PTV Sports HD is a 24-hour sports channel owned by the Pakistan Television Corporation, Pakistan's state broadcaster. PTV Sports was launched on 14 January 2012, with its HD broadcasts beginning on 26 January 2022, the start date of the 2022 P ...

. In addition to the live telecast, the matches were shown on repeat the following day as well.

Final

Gujrat Warriors Gujrat Warriors (GW) is a Kabaddi club based in Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan that plays in the Super Kabaddi League (SKL). The team is currently led by Tehseen Ullah. The team was the inaugural champions of the 2018 Super Kabaddi League. Franchise ...

won the inaugural Super Kabaddi League after defeating

Faisalabad Sherdils Faisalabad Sherdils (FS) is a Kabaddi club based in Faisalabad, Pakistan that plays in the Super Kabaddi League. The team is currently led by Nasir Ali, who also holds the record for the most raid points in the inaugural SKL season. Franchise ...

in the final game by 38-26. Gujrat Warriors' Tehseen Ullah was declared the ''Man of the Final''. Faisalabad's captain Nasir Ali was declared the ''Player of the League''. The winning team received a Rs. 1 million cash prize while the runners-up were given Rs. 500,000.

References

External links

* Sports governing bodies in Pakistan Kabaddi competitions in Pakistan Sports leagues established in 2018 2018 establishments in Pakistan Professional sports leagues in Pakistan {{Pakistan-sport-stub