School Games national volleyball tourney begins
Vijayawada: The 68th School Games National Volleyball Tournament for Under-19 Girls commenced in a grand fashion at the PB Siddhartha Arts and Science Junior College here on Monday. Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, and others register first wins in the national tourney, in which teams from 25 states are participating. Matches are being held on international standard courts equipped with floodlights, following a league-cum-knockout format. The School Games Federation of Andhra Pradesh (SGFAP) and the School Games Federation Krishna District Under-19 Unit are hosting the five-day tourney.
Vijayawada East MLA Gadde Rama Mohana Rao inaugurated the tournament while the Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Cinematography Kandula Durgesh received a guard of honour from the participating state teams.
Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) Chairman Animini Ravi Naidu explaining the details of the state’s New Sports Policy said substantial rewards will be presented for athletes excelled in national and international competitions. He said cash prizes will be presented in various categories.
The SGFAP Secretary G Bhanumurthy Raju, Assistant Secretary KV Radhakrishna, School Games Federation of India Field Observer Pradeep Yadav, PB Siddhartha Arts and Science Junior College Principal Ch Venkateswarlu, School Games Krishna District Under-19 Secretary V Ravikantha, Krishna District Volleyball Association Secretary D Dayakar and others attended the inauguration.
On the first day hosts Andhra Pradesh along with Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, CBSE, CISCE, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh secured their first wins during the league stage. Madhya Pradesh defeated Chandigarh, 25-17, 25-20, 25-16, Himachal Pradesh defeated Telangana, 25-17, 21-25, 26-24, 25-22 in a thrilling encounter. Odisha defeated Jharkhand, 25-06, 25-11, 25-09, CISE defeated Vidya Bharathi, 25-11, 25-13, 25-09, Andhra Pradesh defeated Uttarakhand, 25-15, 25-15, 25-15, CBSE defeated Punjab, 3-2, Uttar Pradesh defeated Rajasthan, 3-0.