MUMBAI: This season Star Sports, the official broadcaster for VIVO Pro Kabaddi League 2018 lifts the spirit of the game a notch higher with the announcement of three - time Olympic Gold medallist, Stephanie Rice, as an addition to the illustrious expert panel. Along with current panellists Suhail Chandok and Radhakrishnan Sreenivasan, Stephanie is all set to bring her spin to the kabaddi mat in the weeks to come this season.

Excited to be in India for VIVO PKL 2018, Stephanie Rice, said, ‘’I’ve officially been in India for a while now and I have started to understand Kabaddi. I feel it is a kind of game I will call professional tag/red rover which is played on a matt that looks like a basketball court. The players are so fit, agile and strong and have such smart methods of manoeuvring opponents. Thanks to my Hindi lessons, I can pronounce their names now and I look forward to a fantastic season. Also, for the first time, I have stepped out of my comfort zone with presenting a new sport like Kabaddi and really hope that this will be an amazing experience for me and for all the spectators out there.’’

Australian swimmer, mentor and entrepreneur, Stephanie Rice knew she wanted to swim for her country at the young age of eight. She drew the globe’s attention when she won three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, in world record breaking time. The unstoppable young champion went on to co-author her own book “The Art of Wellness” post retirement at twenty-four. She is also the face of several international brands and continues to win hearts through her passion to enhance people’s lives through one-on-one mentoring, workshops and her own self-motivation program.

Fans can catch each match LIVE, 7:30 pm onwards, starting with ShareChat KBD LIVE on the Star Sports Network including the FTA channel Star Sports First, regional channel Star Sports 1 Tamil, in Kannada on Star Suvarna Plus, in Telugu on Star Maa Gold and Hotstar.