VISAKHAPATNAM: Amidst cheers and much fanfare, the State-level Aadudam Andhra got underway at the railway stadium here on Friday. Inaugurating the event, Minister for Tourism and Sports RK Roja administered the oath to the players who assembled from 26 districts.
Reiterating that the State government has been giving high priority to the sports by bringing revolutionary changes in Andhra Pradesh, the Minister exhorted the players stating that the victory in the tournament is the win of the State. She further explained that Aadudam Andhra was designed to tap the sports talent in the State and motivate the youth to achieve their goals.
SAAP chairman Byreddy Siddharth Reddy told the players to utilise the opportunity and not to get low as the failures are stepping stones of success.
Principal secretary Pradyumna advised the youth to imbibe competitive spirit by participating in sports and the players should be committed to values. He further asked the players to bind by the rules and the decision of umpires is final.
Speaking on the occasion, SAAP managing director Dhyan Chandra said the State government allocated Rs 120 crore to make the Aadudam Andhra a memorable tournament.
“The tournament which began on December 26, witnessed registration of as many as 37.35 lakh players, including 13.77 lakh women players. As many as 3.30 lakh selected teams participated in the tournament at village, ward and Sachivalayam levels, 1.24 lakh teams at mandal level, 7,346 teams at the constituency level and 1,731 teams at the district level. As many as 3.55 lakh matches were conducted so far,” he said.
District Collector A Mallikharjuna expressed happiness for choosing Visakhapatnam as the venue to hold State-level tournament from February 9 to 13. He reiterated that the selected teams will be trained by experts in their respective sports events.
A large number of public representatives and government officials were also present at the inaugural function.
Later, the District Collector along with the Principal Secretary and other officials, visited ACA-VDCA international cricket stadium to review arrangements for the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s visit on February 13 for the grand finale of the Aadudam Anadhra.