New Delhi:
The fifth season of the Pro Kabaddi League’s shall get off to an electrifying start in Hyderabad on Friday when Telugu Titans lock horns against Tamil Thalaivas in the inaugural match of the tournament at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad. The match is being dubbed as the battle of two of the star raider in Rahul Chaudhari and Ajay Thakur.
The match shall be preceded by a glittering inaugural ceremony at 6:30 pm which is likely to be attended by sports icons and film personalities. Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar will sing a glorious rendition of the National Anthem before the start of the first match of the season, the organisers said in a release.
Hyderabad would host matches up to August 3. As many as 12 teams compete in the tournament and the season would culminate with the finals slated for October 28 in Chennai.
“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,” said Anupam Goswami, League Commissioner, VIVO Pro Kabaddi.
The second match of the day will see a mouth-watering Maharashtra derby, with U Mumba taking on the Puneri Paltan. Anup Kumar will lead a strong raiding contingent against the Deepak Hooda's Pune side, which boasts of star names such as Sandeep Narwal, Rajesh Mondal and Dharmaraj Cheralathan.
Telugu Titans vs Tamil Thalaivas Playing Squads
Telugu Titans:
Defenders: Amit Singh Chhillar, Farhad Milghardhan, Rohit Rana, Sombir, Vinod Kumar
All-rounders: Elangeshwaran R, Rakesh Kumar, Vishal Bhardwaj
Raider: Rahul Chaudhari, Mohsen Maghsoudlou, Nilesh Salunkhe, Munish, Ankit Malik, Athul MS, Vikas
Tamil Thalaivas:
Defenders: Amit Hooda, Anil Kumar, Anil Kumar, C Arun, Darshan J, Mugilan, Muruthu M, Rajesh Manokaran, Sanket Chavan, T Prabhakaran, Vijay Kumar, Vijin Thangadurai
All-rounders: Ananth Kumar, Chan Sik Park, D Pradap, Sujit Maharana,
Raiders: Ajay Thakur, Bhavani Rajput, Dong Geon Lee, K Prapanjan, M Thivakaran, Sarang Arun Deshmukh, Sombir, Vineet Kumar, Waleed Al Hasani
