VISAKHAPATNAM : Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced that sports franshises such as Chennai Super Kings, Andhra Cricket Association, Prime Volleyball, Pro-Kabaddi, AP Badminton Association and Hyderabad Black Hawks have adopted 14 players, who participated in Aadudam Andhra.
He explained that these franchises will train the players in their respective sport and hone their skills so they can contest in international tournaments.
Jagan participated in the closing ceremony of the 47-day sports extravaganza and handed over the prizes to the winners at the Dr YS Rajashekar Reddy ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. Addressing the gathering, Jagan said Aadudam Andhra was a super success as a record number of 25.40 lakh players participated in it. He added that sports kits worth Rs 37 crore were distributed and prizes of Rs 12.21 crore were given to the winners.
Stating that the objective of Aadudam Andhra was to enhance awareness among people about health and fitness, the Chief Minister said, “Talent spotted in villages can be transformed into top sportspersons with the help of training from professional trainers. The programme will enable more players to represent Andhra Pradesh at the international arena.”
As part of Aadudam Andhra, matches were conducted in five sports—cricket, kabaddi, volleyball, kho kho and badminton—from the village level. As many as 25.40 lakh players participated in 3.30 lakh matches at the village and ward level.
Similarly, 1.24 lakh matches were conducted at the mandal level, 1,731 matches at district level and 260 at the State level, Jagan explained.
Aadudam Andhra ends
He noted that the grand sports event concluded at Visakhapatnam in north Andhra, which is land of legendary wrestler and weightlifter Kodi Ramamurthi. The programme drew to a close with a colourful light and sound show, and cultural performances. A special theme song on Aadudam Andhra was also played at the stadium to mark the closing ceremony.
Earlier, in the final match of cricket Eluru scored an emphatic win over Visakhapatnam team. The Chief Minister also watched the last few overs of the final match.