TIRUPATI: Seeking to foster a culture of sportsmanship across Andhra Pradesh, the State government has rolled out zonal-level competitions as part of a larger plan to mark National Sports Day on August 29.
Nearly 1,700 athletes from eight districts converged at the Sri Venkateswara University Tarakarama Stadium on Monday for the inauguration of the 2-day event, organised by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP).
SAAP Chairman Animini Ravi Naidu, who inaugurated the meet, said the initiative was designed not just as a contest but as a state-wide movement to honour hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand and to encourage participation from schools, colleges and universities. The winners of the ongoing competitions will later receive medals and cash rewards from Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during the State’s National Sports Day celebrations.
Ravi Naidu pointed out that the government has taken multiple measures to back athletes, ranging from three per cent job reservation under the sports quota without written exams to funding allocations for schools and playgrounds.
While Education Minister Nara Lokesh has earmarked Rs 30,000 for each school to buy sports equipment, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has promised that 10 per cent of Panchayat Raj funds will be used to develop playgrounds. “This government is prioritising sports development in a way unseen in recent years,” he asserted.
Speakers including SAAP Director Rajani, Yadava Corporation Chairman G Narsimhulu Yadav, AP Greenery and Beautification Corporation Chairperson M Sugunamma and Deputy Mayor RC Munikrishna urged athletes to embrace the values of discipline andfair play irrespective of victory or defeat, stressing that the revised sports policies would have lasting benefits for the state’s sporting ecosystem.
With the zonal stage now in progress, all eyes are on the young competitors who will advance to the state-level championships at Acharya Nagarjuna University in Guntur later this month.
