Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 5 (ANI): Mashal Sports, organisers of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), on Tuesday announced the return of PKL with Season 8 scheduled to commence from December 22.
The player auctions for the season were conducted on 29-31 August this year in Mumbai. Keeping the health and safety of the players and all the stakeholders in mind, this year the league will be held without spectators, at a single venue in Bengaluru, moving away from the traditional caravan format. A total of 59 players have been retained for Season 8 of the Pro Kabaddi League, across all three categories with 22 in the Elite Retained Players (ERP) category, six in the Retained Young Players (RYP) category, and 31 in the New Young Players (NYP) category.
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Speaking on the return of PKL Season 8, Anupam Goswami, CEO, Mashal Sports and League Commissioner, VIVO Pro Kabaddi League said: "We are very privileged that Season 8 of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League will be hosted in Karnataka, especially as this state is very significant geography for kabaddi and PKL fans in India. Bengaluru has all the facilities for the conduct of big competitive sports events with best safety practices, and we look forward to demonstrating this with PKL Season 8."
Welcoming the league to Karnataka, the chief minister of the state, Basavaraj Bommai said, "Kabaddi is a genuine indigenous sport of India and very popular in Karnataka. We welcome and support the conduct of forthcoming Pro Kabaddi Season 8 in our state."
The league will implement protocols to comply with government regulations and guidelines and will work with specialised safety agencies to implement stringent safety practices and create a bio-secure bubble, a first for any professional indoor contact sports league in India.
Season 8 of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network (SSN) and Disney Hotstar.
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