Identify sports talent from rural areas: Mayor BY Ramaiah

Kurnool: Mayor BY Ramaiah said that the government is providing a big platform to the sports sector and encouraging athletes from rural areas to exhibit their skills at state and national-level tournaments.

Participating as chief guest in the inauguration of two-day handball league championship competitions organised at the District Sports Authority (DSA) outdoor stadium here on Wednesday, Ramaiah said the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) was conducting various sports activities to tap latent talent among young rural athletes and in tribal areas.

The government has also announced good awards and rewards to the athletes who performed awesome skills at state and national competitions, said Ramaiah. Principal of STBC College Prasanthi said that the athletes should not lose sportive spirit when they lose in the game. Instead the athletes should take it as a lesson and prepare for a better exhibition next time.

"Winning and losing is a common phenomenon in every sport and the thing is that the athletes should keep in mind how effectively they have exhibited their sportsmanship," she said. She suggested the participants to make concrete efforts in selections to be held for state-level championship competitions. Handball Kurnool District Association general secretary Dr Rudra Reddy and Sports Authority chief coach Bhupathi Rao said the two-day SAAP league competitions would conclude on Thursday.

The winners would be selected and sent to participate in state-level handball championship competitions to be organised in Guntur from February 13-15. They said that around 10 teams from various parts of the district have participated in the handball competitions. The winners would be facilitated with a memento, certificate and shawl. Sports association members Kiram Kumar, Avinash Shetty, Eshwar Naidu, Nagaraju, Rajasekhar, handball coach Rawoof and Physical Education Teachers (PETs) participated in the inaugural ceremony.