Back after a hiatus of almost two years, Pro Kabaddi Season 8 billed to its expectation with some incredible standout performances. While many players managed to hog the limelight with their noteworthy efforts, only a select few managed to grab the honours due to their consistent form throughout the two-month-long season. 

On that note, we take a look at a few of the notable awards won by players in Pro Kabaddi Season 8. 

Best raider of season award: Pawan Sehrawat

Pawan Sehrawat, with 304 raid points from 24 matches, bagged the award for the best raider of Pro Kabaddi Season 8. The ‘Hi-Flyer’ Pawan scored over 12 points on an average and also recorded 18 super 10s, the most by any player across the entire season. 

With his third successive Best raider of the season award, Pawan Sehrawat became the only player in Pro Kabaddi to cross the 300 raid points mark in two seasons. 

Best defender of season award: Mohammadreza Chiyaneh

Playing in his maiden Pro Kabaddi season, Patna Pirates’ Mohammadreza Chiyaneh racked up 89 tackle points across 24 matches to win the best defender of the season award. 

In the semi-final match against U.P. Yoddha, the Iranian scored his 10th high 5 to set the record for most high 5s in a single season of Pro Kabaddi. Chiyaneh’s tally of 89 tackle points is second-most by a player in a single Pro Kabaddi season after Nitesh Kumar’s 92 tackle points in Season 6.  

MVP of season award: Naveen Kumar

Dabang Delhi K.C.’s ace raider Naveen Kumar won the MVP of the season award for the second successive season in Pro Kabaddi. He scored 207 raid points across 17 matches at an average of close to 12 raid points per match, the second best after Pawan Sehrawat.

Naveen Kumar recorded 17 super 10s in PKL season 8, including the semi-final and final to help Dabang Delhi K.C. win their maiden Pro Kabaddi trophy.  

Emerging player of season award: Mohit Goyat

Amongst only the four players picked in NYP (New Young Players) category at the PKL season 8 auctions, Puneri Paltan’s Mohit Goyat was adjudged the Emerging Player of the season for amassing 159 raid points across 21 matches, including eight super 10s.

Consistently featuring in the starting lineup in the second half of the season, Mohit Goyat became a pivotal part of Pune’s raiding outfit. Mohit's best performance came against Bengal Warriors when he recorded 15 points. Mohit's brilliance was not enough, however, as Puneri Paltan ended up losing the match. 

Author: Kaustubh Potdar

Featured photo: Pro Kabaddi

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