After battling it out with other regional finalists, Malaoya Academy (Haryana) are crowned the first ever National Final winners of Red Bull Tashan 2019

~ Regional edition winners faced off against each other to be crowned the National Finals winner of this cross-country kabaddi tournament ~

~ Malaoya Academy (Haryana) beat Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune) 32-13 in the final match

~ Utsav Kreeda Mandal, Malaoya Academy, Sonarpur Balaka Sansada Pathagar and Patliputra Sports Club will train with Puneri Patlan, Haryana Steelers, Bengal Warriors and Patna Pirates respectively ~

Mumbai, 25^th May 2019: Red Bull hosted the first ever National Finals of Red Bull Tashan; a competitive cross-country Kabaddi tournament for players at grassroots level, in Mumbai at Phoenix Market city, Kurla on 24th May 2019. Organised in association with the PKL franchises Puneri Paltan, Haryana Steelers, Bengal Warriors and Patna Pirates, the tournament aims to widen the reach and further develop the ancient and iconic Indian sport in the country. In its third year, Red Bull Tashan featured four regional finals, followed by a national final in Mumbai where the best amateur kabaddi teams contested to be named India champions.

Regional editions were held on a knockout basis, the winners of their respective regional finals Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune), Malaoya Academy (Haryana), Sonarpur Balaka Sansada Path agar (Kolkata) and Patliputra Sports Club (Patna) battled it out at the National Finals. It was eventually Malaoya Academy (Haryana), who triumphed over the other teams to be crowned Red Bull Tashan National Final winners of 2019. Puneri Paltan player Sagar Krishna was seen cheering and providing valuable inputs to the players during the matches.

National Editions Finals:

Date: 24^th May 2019

Venue: Dublin Square at Phoenix Market city, Kurla

Match 1:

Malaoya Academy (Haryana) vs. Patliputra Sports Club (Patna)

In the first match, Malaoya Academy (Haryana) defeated Patliputra Sports Club (Patna) 34-23

Match 1	Winner
Malaoya Academy (Haryana) vs Patliputra Sports Club (Patna)	Malaoya Academy (Haryana)
34-23

Match 2:

Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune) vs Sonarpur Balaka Sansada Pathagar (Kolkata)

In the second match, Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune) defeated Sonarpur Balaka Sansada Pathagar (Kolkata) 23-19

Match 2	Winner
Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune) vs. Sonarpur Balaka Sansada Pathagar (Kolkata)	Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune)
23-19

Match 3:

Malaoya Academy (Haryana) vs. Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune)

In the third match, Malaoya Academy (Haryana) defeated Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune) 32-15. With the second win, the Haryana Team enters the final.

Match 3	Winner
Malaoya Academy (Haryana) vs. Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune)	Malaoya Academy (Haryana)
32-15

Match 4:

Patliputra Sports Club (Patna) vs Sonarpur Balaka Sansada Pathagar (Kolkata)

In the fourth match, Patliputra Academy (Patna) defeated Sonarpur Balaka Sansada Pathgar (Kolkata) 37-07

Match 4	Winner
Patliputra Sports Club(Patna) vs Sonarpur Balaka Sansada Pathagar (Kolkata)	Patliputra Sports Club (Patna)
37-07

Match 5:

Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune) vs Patliputra Sports Club (Patna)

Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune) defeated Patliputra Sports Club (Patna) 32-19 to get ready for the final clash against Malaoya Academy (Haryana)

Match 1	Winner
Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune) vs Patliputra Sports Club (Patna)	Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune)
32-19

Finals:

Malaoya Academy (Haryana) vs Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune)

In an exhilarating finale, Malaoya Academy (Haryana) beat Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune) 32-13 to win the Red Bull Tashan 2019 National Finals.

Final Match	National Finals Winner
Malaoya Academy (Haryana) vs Utsav Kreeda Mandal (Pune)	Malaoya Academy (Haryana)
32-13

Sagar Krishna, Puneri Paltan player who was present at the Red Bull Tashan National Finals said, “Red Bull Tashan is a great initiative which gives wings to young and aspiring Kabaddi players at the grassroots level. PKL is doing its best to reach more and more people but where PKL cannot reach, such tournaments can play major role to bring out talent from grass root level. It is really encouraging to see the level of Kabaddi being played here at the National Finals and we are really excited to mentor some of these players. We are looking forward to train them and hone their skills to make them even better players. Also, we’d like to congratulate Malaoya Academy from Haryana for winning the Red Bull Tashan 2019 trophy.”

Sachin Singh, captain of Malaoya Academy Haryana said, “We are proud to represent our zone at the National Finals of Red Bull Tashan 2019 and to win it is even more special. Red Bull Tashan is a tournament that has enabled us to showcase our talent and gave us the opportunity to play against some very good teams. We are very excited to train with the Haryana Steelers as we would be training with our idols. It would help us to improve our game and strategize better as a team.”

Open to players between the ages of 17-21 and belonging to a club or college, Red Bull Tashan makes strategy a key component of the matches, which run half the duration of normal Kabaddi games. Each half consists of only 10 minutes each, making the entire duration of the game 20 minutes.

The Inaugural edition of Red Bull Tashan in Bangalore in 2017 witnessed HMT Colony Boys grab the chance to train with the Bengaluru Bulls team. Arun Sai was a part of this winning team which earned the opportunity to train with their role models in Bengaluru Bulls Team from 5^th to 10^th of July at One World, Chennai. This led him to be a part of the Karnataka trials post which he was a part of Mumbai Training camp where few PKL franchises were scouting for talent through which Arun was picked up by Haryana Steelers.

Islampur Vyayam Mandal Sangli were crowned champions of the western edition in 2018 and grabbed the opportunity to train with Puneri Paltan. The South Kolkata team, winners of the eastern edition last year earned the opportunity to train with Bengal Warriors before the 6th season of Pro Kabaddi League kicked off. Also, Yuva Khel Samiti (Gurugram), the winners of the northern edition and GFGC Malur (Bangalore), the winners of the southern edition last year trained with Dabang Delhi KC and Bengaluru Bulls respectively.