# Telugu Talons

The Telugu Talons are a professional Indian men's handball team that competes in the Premier Handball League. The Telugu Talons are the only team from South India in the league and finished the 2023 edition as semi-finalists. The team is currently owned by the Kankanala Sports Group.

## Season history
### Premier Handball League, 2023

The inaugural season of the Premier Handball League saw the participation of six franchises and was held in the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium from June 8 to June 25. The Telugu Talons got off to a winning start, winning their first two games against Garvit Gujarat and Golden Eagles UP. This was followed by two consecutive defeats against the Maharashtra Ironmen and the Delhi Panzers before they went on a 4-game win streak culminating in a second win against the Golden Eagles UP. The Talons wrapped up their league stage campaign with a victory over Garvit Gujarat.
The Telugu Talons secured their qualification to the semi-final in their debut season in the competition. They faced defeat in a tightly contested encounter, going down 4–3 in a penalty shootout against the Golden Eagles UP in the semi-final.
Rahul TK was awarded the Golden Glove for his league-high 184 saves over the course of the tournament.
List of matches played in 2023 :
| Date | | Score | | Winner |
| League Stage |||||
| June 8 | Telugu Talons | 39-32 | Garvit Gujarat | Telugu Talons |
| June 9 | Golden Eagles UP | 38-40 | Telugu Talons | Telugu Talons |
| June 11 | Maharashtra Ironmen | 30-26 | Telugu Talons | Maharashtra Ironmen |
| June 12 | Delhi Panzers | 29-27 | Telugu Talons | Delhi Panzers |
| June 14 | Rajasthan Patriots | 24-28 | Telugu Talons | Telugu Talons |
| June 15 | Telugu Talons | 26-23 | Delhi Panzers | Telugu Talons |
| June 17 | Telugu Talons | 33-22 | Rajasthan Patriots | Telugu Talons |
| June 18 | Telugu Talons | 26-25 | Golden Eagles UP | Telugu Talons |
| June 20 | Telugu Talons | 30-30 | Maharashtra Ironmen | Match Drawn |
| June 21 | Garvit Gujarat | 28-36 | Telugu Talons | Telugu Talons |
| Semi-Final |||||
| June 24 | Telugu Talons | 40-40 (3–4) | Golden Eagles UP | Golden Eagles UP (won on penalties) |
Premier Handball League 2023 Points Table :
| Rank | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Draw | Points |
| 1 | Maharashtra Ironmen | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 2 | Telugu Talons | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 3 | Rajasthan Patriots | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
| 4 | Golden Eagles UP | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | Delhi Panzers | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | Garvit Gujarat | 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 3 |

## Team records

Telugu Talons' Players in Premier Handball League, 2023 :
| Player Name | Total Shots | Total Goals | Shot Efficiency | Penalty Shots | Penalty Goals | Steals | Assists |
| Naseeb Singh | 113 | 78 | 69% | 35 | 26 | 4 | 7 |
| Kailash Patel | 87 | 68 | 78% | 16 | 16 | 3 | 7 |
| Davinder Bhullar | 102 | 58 | 57% | 1 | 0 | 7 | 37 |
| Anil Khudia | 83 | 38 | 46% | 1 | 1 | 4 | 66 |
| Mohit Kumar | 52 | 28 | 54% | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| Rahul Nain | 29 | 22 | 76% | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Raghu Kumara | 26 | 15 | 58% | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Vishal Hadia | 32 | 15 | 47% | 0 | 0 | 4 | 18 |
| Shubham Sheoran | 25 | 11 | 44% | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Ajay Moyal | 9 | 6 | 67% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Chirag Chandel | 13 | 6 | 46% | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Mohit Yadav | 6 | 3 | 50% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Iaroslav Shabanov | 7 | 2 | 29% | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Rey Joshua Tabuzo | 2 | 1 | 50% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||
| Player Name | Total Saves | Save Efficiency | Penalty Save | Penalty Save Efficiency | Assists | - | - |
| Rahul T K | 184 | 40% | 4 | 13% | 5 | - | - |
| Andrei Nedbailo | 10 | 23% | 6 | 27% | 0 | - | - |
| Sombir | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | - | - |
Overall Team Stats :
| Title | Total | League Rank |
| Total Team Goals | 351 | Third |
| Total Team Saves | 195 | Third |
| Penalty Goals | 45 | First |
| Wing Goals | 71 | Second |
| FastBreak Goals | 24 | Second |
| Breakthrough Goals | 37 | First |
| Shot Efficiency | 60% | First |
| Penalty Shot Efficiency | 79% | Third |
| Penalty Saves | 10 | Fourth |
| Save Efficiency | 33% | First |
| Total Steals | 34 | Second |

## Team Sponsors

The Telugu Talons announced a sponsorship agreement with A23, an online multi-gaming platform ahead of the start of the Premier Handball League 2023 season. A23 served as the main title sponsor for 2023 season. Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University was announced as the training partner for the season and also hosted the official jersey launch of the Telugu Talons.
Paradise, Ethames, Malla Reddy, Oxyloans and Prakash Projects were announced as associate sponsors for the season. Mirchi FM served as the official entertainment partner and Whizzy was named the official delivery partner of the Telugu Talons.
Sponsor list for the 2023 season :
| S.No | Sponsor | Title |
| 1 | A23 | Title Sponsor |
| 2 | Paradise | Associate Sponsor |
| 3 | Ethames | Associate Sponsor |
| 4 | Malla Reddy | Associate Sponsor |
| 5 | Oxyloans | Associate Sponsor |
| 6 | Prakash Projects | Associate Sponsor |
| 7 | Mirchi FM | Entertainment Partner |
| 8 | JNTU | Training Partner |
| 9 | Whizzy | Delivery Partner |

## Honors

Premier Handball League, 2023
* Rahul TK - Golden Glove Award
* Kailash Patel - Moment of the Season (vs Maharashtra Ironmen)

## Roster

Squad :
| No. | Name | Position |
| 1 | Andrei Nedbailo | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Iaroslav Shabanov | Left back |
| 3 | Rey Joshua Tabuzo | Right back |
| 4 | Naseeb Singh | Right wing |
| 5 | Anil Khudia | Centre back |
| 6 | Shubham Sheoran | Left back |
| 7 | Kailash Patel | Left wing |
| 8 | Rahul T K | Goalkeeper |
| 9 | Raghu Kumara | Pivot |
| 10 | Mohit Kumar | Right back |
| 11 | Chirag Chandel | Right wing |
| 12 | Vishal Hadia | Right back |
| 13 | Mohit Yadav | Left wing |
| 14 | Davinder Bhullar | Left back |
| 15 | Ajay Moyal | Centre back |
| 16 | Sombir | Goalkeeper |
| 17 | Rahul Nain | Pivot |

## Administration and support staff

| Position | Name |
| Owner | Kankanala Sports Group |
| Head Coach | Fernando Nunes |
| Assistant Coach | Sachin Kumar Bhardwaj |