Three Kabaddi players of Mandya are participating in the Indo International Premier Kabaddi League, organised jointly by New Kabaddi Federation of India and DD Sports, featuring eight teams to be held from May 13 to June 4.

Disclosing this at a press meet in Mandya on Tuesday, Karnataka State Kabaddi Association Gen. Secretary C. Honnappa Gowda said that the Kabaddi Tournament would be launched on May 13 in Pune.

The matches will also be played at Chamundi Vihar Stadium in Mysuru and Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru. The matches would be telecast live from 8 pm to 10.30 pm daily on DD Sports and MTV, he explained.

The Tournament will be held on the lines of Pro-Kabaddi Tournament. Good Kabaddi players picked up at taluk and district levels will participate in the Tournament. The teams to participate are Bengaluru Rhinos, Chennai Challengers, Diler Dilli, Harayana Heroes, Mumbai Che Raje, Pondicherry Predators, Pune Pride and Telugu Bulls. The teams include a few players from abroad.

The three players from Mandya district Y.D. Shashidar, Venkatesh and H.S. Abhishek will play for Diler Dilli, Pune Pride and Telugu Bulls respectively.
Former Cricketer Veerendra Sehwag will be the Ambassador for the Tournament.

The first phase of the League matches will be played in Pune from May 13 to 20 featuring 20 matches and the second phase at Chamundi Vihar Stadium in Mysuru from May 21 to 30, featuring 17 matches. The final seven games will be held at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru. In all, there will be 44 matches in season one with 160 players.

The winning team bags Rs.1.25 crore, the runner-up Rs. 75 lakh, third place Rs.50 lakh and fourth place Rs.25 lakh.