Guntur: Home minister Vangalapudi Anitha announced that the state government, under the leadership of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, is developing an international-standard Sports City in Amaravati to promote sports and fitness. She said the government is committed to nurturing athletic excellence, ensuring police welfare, and achieving global sporting recognition for Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking after inaugurating the 2nd All India Police Weightlifting Cluster 2025–26 competitions at the APSP 6th Battalion on Monday, the minister said the Police Weightlifting Cluster reflects the strength, discipline, and teamwork of the police personnel. She added that the event would serve as a model platform for future national and international sports competitions.

“The spirit of Amaravati’s Sports City begins here,” she remarked, highlighting the government’s vision for a strong sporting culture.

Expressing happiness over the inclusion of Yoga alongside weightlifting and powerlifting, Anitha said it symbolizes India’s age-old culture of balance and wellness. She also recalled the state’s recent achievement of entering the Guinness World Records for organizing the ‘Yogandhra’ event in Visakhapatnam, which saw participation from over 3.2 lakh people.

Director general of police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta formally declared the national tournament open. A total of 32 teams from various states, Union Territories, and Central police organisations took part in the march-past.

Around 1,010 athletes are competing in weightlifting, powerlifting and Yoga events. The weightlifting and powerlifting contests are being held at Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU), Guntur, while the Yoga competitions are taking place at Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Amaravati.

IG (welfare & sports) K V Mohan Rao and DIG Anburajan also attended the programme.