Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: New trophy unveiled with the 12 captains

HYDERABAD, July 27, 2017: The thrill of electrifying raids and dynamic tackles is just a day away, and the captains of all 12 VIVO Pro Kabaddi teams came together to launch the Season 5 of the league.

Kabaddi stalwarts Anup Kumar, Rahul Chaudhari, Ajay Thakur, Nitin Tomar including international star Meraj Sheykh were among the captains’ present. The first match, on July 28, 2017, will see new team Tamil Thalaivas, led by Ajay Thakur take on Rahul Chaudhari-led Telugu Titans in Hyderabad.

The inaugural ceremony of Season 5 is likely to be a star-studded affair, with eminent sports icons and film personalities expected to attend. Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar will sing a glorious rendition of the National Anthem before the start of the first match of the season.

Gearing up for the 138 exhilarating matches across 13 weeks, the teams have been training fastidiously to prepare for a competitive season. The battle for the league got even more intense with the announcement of a consolidated sum of INR 8 crores as the coveted prize money for the season.

Sanjay Gupta, Managing Director, Star India said, ‘As we stand hours away from the 5th season of VIVO Pro Kabaddi, I am transported back to the day we decided to launch the league. I am filled with immense pride to see how the league has made tremendous impact and grown continuously. It's now constituted as the biggest domestic sports league with twelve new teams and expanding to new geographies. I look forward to a thrilling season of three months and I am confident that it will make history all over again.’’

Anupam Goswami, League Commissioner, VIVO Pro Kabaddi said, "We are now one day away from the most thrilling season of VIVO Pro Kabaddi ever. I am proud, excited and, at the same time, grateful to the fans, franchises, Star and the federations for supporting us at every step of this journey. I look forward to an engaging season of kabaddi."

Janardan Singh Gehlot, President, International Kabaddi Federation said, "At the Federation, we are eagerly waiting to see how Season 5 of VIVO Pro Kabaddi unfolds. The players and their coaches have invested gruelling hours of training to put up a competitive front and give fans an action-packed sport to cheer on for 3 months. We are confident that Kabaddi will continue its upward rise in the days and years to come."

The season will culminate with the finals slated for October 28, 2017, in Chennai.

From July 28th to October 28th from 7:30 PM onward, fans can catch each match live on the Star Sports network, including the recently launched FTA channel Star Sports First, regional channel Star Sports 1 Tamil, in Kanadda on Star Suvarna Plus, in Telugu on Star Maa Movies and Hotstar.