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The Kolkata leg of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi will get underway after a rendition of the national anthem by one of the West Bengal’s favourite sons – Sourav Ganguly. Each day of the tournament starts after ‘Jana Gana Mana’ reverberates across the stadium and India’s cricket captain will sing the anthem on 22nd July.
Before Bengal Warriors’ first home match against Jaipur Pink Panthers, the 43-year-old’s voice will be heard at the Netaji Indoor Stadium and across millions tuning in on their television sets and the internet.
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In the first leg, Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan sang the anthem to a packed Dome at the NSCI in Mumbai on the opening day of the second season of the League. The second day saw singer Sunidhi Chauhan enthrall the audience with her version.
On the third day, Rhys Sebastian signalled the start of the day’s play by playing an instrumental version of the anthem on his saxophone. The Girls choir of the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Mumbai sang ‘Jana Gana Mana’ with aplomb on the final day of the Mumbai leg.
With the tournament moving to Kolkata, Dada, as he is fondly called, will lend his voice to the League. Chief Minister of the state Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the second leg of the franchise-based kabaddi event in Kolkata. The Bengal Warriors CEO Sandip Tarkas confirmed the news.
“Sourav will sing the National Anthem tomorrow (Wednesday). Every city we go to, a local celebrity sings the anthem to inaugurate the home leg,” said Tarkas.
The others who will sing the anthem on the remaining days have not been disclosed yet.
The home team, who lost their first match against Bengaluru Bulls at Mumbai, will play four matches in the four-day leg. After coming up against the Panthers, they will face Telugu Titans, league leaders U Mumba and Dabang Delhi.
