Andhra Pradesh CM Kicks Off State-Wide Sports Competition

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday kicked off 'Aadudam Andhra', a multi-sport competition which will be held right from the grassroots to the state-level here in this district.

Starting today, the 47-day competition is scheduled till February 10 at Nallapadu village in the district and will encourage and identify talent in cricket, volleyball, badminton and other sports.

"This sporting extravaganza will emerge as a milestone. Starting today, it will happen for another 47 days till February 10. It will happen across villages in a festival-like atmosphere. This programme will remain in history as an activity in which everybody can participate," said Reddy, addressing a public meeting.

Besides engaging enthusiasts in sports, the chief minister said that the state government wants to achieve the twin objectives of making people physically active, identifying talent and ward off diseases.

He highlighted that sporting talent from the villages, which is often neglected, will be discovered and sharpened for competing at the state and national levels. By the time the competitions reach the constituency level, Reddy said professional leagues will collaborate with the state government and groom the identified talent into professionals.

For cricket, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) IPL team and Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) will be the collaborators, while for badminton, it will be international players K Srikanth and PV Sindhu, he said.

According to Reddy, 'Adudam Andhra' will be an annual affair to promote health awareness and identify talent.

As many as 34 lakh people from across the state have registered for the sports event, for which 87 lakh spectators are expected. The competition has total prize money of Rs 12 crore.