Kankanala Sports Group Explained

Kankanala Sports Group
Label1:Teams
Label5:Chairman
Data5:Abhishek Reddy Kankanala
Label6:Location
Data6:Hyderabad

Kankanala Sports Group or KSG for short, is a Hyderabad-based sports management firm[1] that is dedicated to developing world-class talents through the development of sports at the grassroots level in India.[2]

The Kankanala Sports Group currently owns several sports franchises across a variety of sporting disciplines such as INDE Racing in the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup, Hyderabad Black Hawks in the Prime Volleyball League, Telugu Talons in the Premier Handball League and Bengaluru Raptors in the Premier Badminton League.[3] Abhishek Reddy Kankanala currently serves as the Chairman of the Kankanala Sports Group.[2]

Hyderabad Black Hawks

The Hyderabad Black Hawks are a professional men's volleyball team that competes in the Prime Volleyball League. Global Sports Arena LLP took over ownership in the year 2021, with the Kankanala Sports Group possessing a majority of the shares. Shyam Sundar Reddy and Deepak G. Reddy are co-owners and hold minority stakes in the Hyderabad franchise alongside Vijay Devarakonda.[4] [5] They have competed in all three seasons of the Prime Volleyball League recording their best-ever finish in the 2022 season where they finished in third place alongside the Calicut Heroes.[6] The team most recently competed in the 2024 edition of the Prime Volleyball League.[7]

As part of their commitment to developing volleyball at the grassroots level, the Hyderabad Black Hawks hosted the VD Black Hawks Open '24 which saw the participation of over 3000 players and 300+ teams and was held across 16 different locations.[8]

INDE Racing

INDE Racing is India's first FIM licensed team, currently competing in the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup as the team representing India.[9] [10] In January 2024, KSG announced that INDE Racing would compete in the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup.[11] Earlier in the year, INDE Racing signed a nine-year agreement with FIM that would see the hosting of the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup in India.[12] [13]

INDE Racing took part in the first two legs of the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup held in Osaka and Oslo respectively, currently standing at third place in the overall rankings. INDE Racing secured a podium finish in their debut race in the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup,[14] with Sandra Gómez and Spenser Wilton finishing first and fifth in their respective categories to power INDE Racing to a third-placed finish.[15] The teams riders consists of Sandra Gómez, Spenser Wilton, Aishwarya Pissay and Runar Sudmann.[16]

Telugu Talons

The Telugu Talons are a professional Indian men's handball team that competes in the Premier Handball League.[17] They are the only South Indian representative in the league and finished in third place in the 2023 season.

The Kankanala Sports Group announced the Telugu Talons as a participant for the 2023 season of the Premier Handball League on April 22, 2023, ahead of the inaugural auction.[18]

The Telugu Talons announced Shubham Sheoran as the captain of the franchise ahead of the 2023 season. Naseeb Singh ended up as the top goal-scorer for the Talons recording a total of 78 goals whilst Rahul TK finished with the Golden Glove award for the 2023 season, racking up 184 saves over the course of the tournament.

Bengaluru Raptors

The Bengaluru Raptors (previously Banga Beats, Bengaluru Topguns and Bengaluru Blasters) is a professional men's badminton team that officially represents Bengaluru in the Premier Badminton League(PBL).

The team is one of the six founding members of the Premier Badminton League. The Bengaluru Raptors have won the Premier Badminton League twice, winning their maiden title in 2019 by defeating the Mumbai Rockets by a scoreline of 4-3. They last competed in the Premier Badminton League in 2020 and finished as Champions defeating the Northeastern Warriors by a scoreline of 4-2.[19] [20] This win made them the only team to win the PBL twice in consecutive editions.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: www.ETAuto.com . Kankanala Sports Group and FIM E-Xplorer join to organize e-bike races in India - ET Auto . 2024-06-06 . ETAuto.com . en . 2024-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240605132609/https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/two-wheelers/kankanala-sports-group-and-fim-e-xplorer-join-to-organize-e-bike-races-in-india/106544526 . live .
  2. Web site: Kankanala Sports Group sports . 2024-06-05 . Kankanalasports.com . en . 2024-05-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240503011811/https://www.kankanalasports.com/ . live .
  3. Web site: Kankanala Sports Group LinkedIn . 2024-06-05 . in.linkedin.com . en . 2024-06-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240606205304/https://in.linkedin.com/company/kankanala-sports . live .
  4. Web site: Correspondent . D. C. . 2023-01-24 . Vijay Deverakonda becomes co-owner of volleyball franchise Hyderabad Black Hawks . 2024-06-05 . www.deccanchronicle.com . en . 2024-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240605120619/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/sports/in-other-news/240123/vijay-deverakonda-becomes-co-owner-of-volleyball-franchise-hyderabad-b.html . live .
  5. Web site: ANI . 2023-01-23 . Prime Volleyball League: Actor Vijay Deverakonda announced as co-owner of Hyderabad Black Hawks team . 2024-06-05 . ThePrint . en-US . 2024-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240605120618/https://theprint.in/sport/prime-volleyball-league-actor-vijay-deverakonda-announced-as-co-owner-of-hyderabad-black-hawks-team/1331179/ . live .
  6. Web site: Mohamed . Farzan . Prime Volleyball League 2022 Points Table: Where did the teams finish after the league stage? . 2024-06-05 . SportsKeeda . 2024-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240605120617/https://www.sportskeeda.com/volleyball/news-prime-volleyball-league-2022-points-table-where-teams-finish-league-stage . live .
  7. Web site: Prime Volleyball League Official Website . 2024-06-05 . Prime Volleyball League . en . 2023-02-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230212231544/https://www.primevolleyballleague.com/home . live .
  8. Web site: Correspondent . D. C. . 2024-02-09 . Vijay Deverakonda Black Hawks Open 24 . 2024-06-05 . www.deccanchronicle.com . en . 2024-05-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240515134937/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/sports/other-sports/vijay-deverakonda-black-hawks-open-24-881568 . live .
  9. Web site: Indian Electric Motocross Team, INDE Racing, Racing team, Electric bike team Electric Motocross Team . 2024-06-05 . inderacing . en . 2024-05-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240531121446/https://www.inderacing.com/ . live .
  10. Web site: Ola Electric launches EV software upgrade, MoveOS 4 . 2024-06-06 . Autocar Professional . en . 2024-06-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240606063604/https://www.autocarpro.in/news/ola-electric-launches-ev-software-upgrade-moveos-4-118769 . live .
  11. Web site: 2024-01-18 . Kankanala Sports Group launches INDE Racing team . 2024-06-05 . Financialexpress . en . 2024-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240605122119/https://www.financialexpress.com/auto/motor-sports/kankanala-sports-group-launches-inde-racing-team/3368442/ . live .
  12. Web site: Today . Telangana . 2024-01-05 . Kankanala Sports Group to organise races in India . 2024-06-06 . Telangana Today . en . 2024-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240605172543/https://telanganatoday.com/kankanala-sports-group-to-organise-races-in-india . live .
  13. Web site: Kankanala Sports Group Partners with FIM E-Xplorer for E-Bike Races in India . 2024-06-06 . www.ceoinsightsindia.com . 2024-06-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240606063556/https://www.ceoinsightsindia.com/news/kankanala-sports-group-partners-with-fim-explorer-for-ebike-races-in-india-nwid-16416.html . live .
  14. Web site: Correspondent . D. C. . 2024-03-10 . INDE Racing Achieves Historic Podium Finish At The FIM e-xplorer World Cup . 2024-06-05 . www.deccanchronicle.com . en . 2024-05-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240527212603/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/sports/inde-racing-achieves-historic-podium-finish-at-the-fim-e-xplorer-world-cup-884744 . live .
  15. Web site: Gidithuri . Unnatee . INDE Racing bags podium finish on FIM E-Xplorer debut . 2024-06-05 . Autocar India . en . 2024-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240525125956/https://www.autocarindia.com/motor-sports-news/inde-racing-bags-podium-finish-on-fim-e-xplorer-debut-430723 . live .
  16. Web site: Correspondent . D. C. . 2024-01-18 . Kankanala Sports Group launches INDE Racing, India’s first global independent motorsport team . 2024-06-06 . www.deccanchronicle.com . en . 2024-06-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240606205311/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/business/kankanala-sports-group-launches-inde-racing-indias-first-global-independent-motorsport-team-878980 . live .
  17. Web site: Premier Handball Telugu Talons . 2024-06-06 . www.premierhandball.com . en . 2024-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240327205124/https://premierhandball.com/team-details/12 . live .
  18. Web site: Premier Handball League: Telugu Talons latest franchise to enter PHL ahead of inaugural season . 2024-06-06 . Khel Now . en-us . 2023-06-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230603130732/https://khelnow.com/handball/2023-04-premier-handball-league-telugu-talons-joins-phl . live .
  19. Web site: Sportstar . Team . 2020-02-09 . PBL FINAL, As it Happened: Bengaluru Raptors beats North Eastern Warriors 4-2 . 2024-06-06 . Sportstar . en . 2024-06-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240606063555/https://sportstar.thehindu.com/badminton/pbl-final-live-score-streaming-bengaluru-raptors-north-eastern-warriors-praneeth-tai-tzu-ying-leverdez-michelle-li-isara-krishna-premier-badminton-league/article30776019.ece . live .
  20. Web site: Subrahmanyam . V. V. . 2020-02-09 . PBL FINAL: Bengaluru Raptors wins back-to-back titles after beating North Eastern Warriors . 2024-06-06 . Sportstar . en . 2024-06-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240606063553/https://sportstar.thehindu.com/badminton/pbl-5-final-bengaluru-raptors-beats-north-eastern-warriors-to-win-second-title-sai-praneeth-tai-tzu-ying-michelle-li-krishna-prasad-premier-badminton-league/article30777657.ece . live .