Vijayawada: 1.17L players to take part in Aadudam Andhra

Vijayawada: NTR district collector S Dilli Rao said 1.17 lakh players have registered their names in the district to participate in Aadudam Andhra, the sports festival organised by the state government from December 26 to February 10, 2024. He said the players have registered their names to play cricket, volleyball, kabaddi, kho-kho and badminton.

He said over 11,000 teams will participate in the five events. Dilli Rao along with Central MLA Malladi Vishnu, VMC commissioner Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar, international archery player V Jyothy Surekha inaugurated Aadudam Andhra at Makineni Basava Punnaiah VMC stadium in Ajit Singh Nagar on Tuesday.

He said Aadudam Andhra is a great opportunity to the young players who are aged above 15 years. He said the games will be organised at ward secretariat level, mandal level, constituency, district and finally state-level.

Dilli Rao said the winners of the constituency level players will get cash prizes and the state government announced Rs 12 crore for distribution of prizes and cash to the winners.

He said the talented players identified in Aadudam Andhra will be selected and will be given special coaching in the sports academies and it will help them become national and international level players.

He suggested the young players get inspiration from talented players like Jyothi Suresh Vannem, who won many medals in the international archery events.

MLA Malladi Vishnu said Aadudam Andhra sports festival is a milestone in the sports history of Andhra Pradesh. He said the event will be helpful to identify the talented players and encourage them to become national and international players.

He said 20,888 players have registered their names in the Central Assembly constituency to participate in Aadudam Andhra. VMC commissioner Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar, archery player Jyothy Surekha and others spoke on the occasion and congratulated the participants.