VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday formally declared the 47-day sports extravaganza ‘Aadudam Andhra’ open. Speaking during an event held at Nallapadu of Guntur district, he said the objective of the initiative is twofold—one is to improve the health of people and the other is to identify the sporting talent among the millions of citizens of Andhra Pradesh.
Jagan arrived at Loyola Public School grounds amid much fanfare, hoisted the flag and handed over the torch to the players to mark the inaugural of the event. After releasing the balloons, he also administered the oath to players and handed over sports kits to them.
Stating that 34.19 lakh players have registered to compete in five sports (cricket, badminton, kho-kho, kabaddi and volleyball) from the village to the State-level, he said the sporting event was being held for the first time not just in the State, but also in the country.
Highlighting the objectives of the event, Jagan explained, “Aadudam Andhra will serve as a massive fitness exercise for youngsters and help them get fit. It will raise awareness on how exercise can keep lifestyle diseases like high blood pressure and type-two diabetes at bay.”
Further, he pointed out that the government has been focusing on preventive healthcare by introducing village clinics and family doctor concept. “Another step has been taken in this direction in the form of Aadudam Andhra,” the Chief Minister added.The second objective, he said, was to identify talent and encourage the people to pursue sports at the State, national and international arenas.
He added that players from Chennai Super Kings and Andhra Cricket Association have come forward to witness the cricket matches to identify talented youth and train them further. Similarly, international badminton players Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu, representatives of Prime Volleyball and Pro Kabaddi have also come forward to scout for talented youngsters in the respective sports.
Stating that Srikanth and Sindhu will launch their badminton academies in Visakhapatnam and Tirupati, Jagan said talented youth will be encouraged at the national and international levels.Reiterating that the sports event will be held in December every year, the Chief Minister said competitions will be held at the village, mandal, district, constituency and State levels.
Later, he went around the ground and mingled with the players. Jagan also played cricket and badminton with the players for a while.Sports and Tourism Minister RK Roja, Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) chairman B Siddharth Reddy and senior officials participated in the programme.