'Aadudam Andhra’: Top sports bodies’ identify 14 young players; will train them for professional tourneys

Visakhapatnam: Top sports bodies’ have identified 14 young players who will be groomed and trained for professional tourneys.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), Pro Kabaddi, Black Hawks Volleyball, AP Kho-Kho Association, and AP Badminton Association identified the sportspersons through Aadudam Andhra which concluded on Tuesday.

On Tuesday night, the grand finale of the Andhra Pradesh government’s first-ever sports extravaganza ‘Aadudam Andhra’, concluded at the YSR Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Over 25 lakh people participated in the 47-day-long sports festival.

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy gave the valedictory speech and felicitated all the winners. The stadium was occupied by a sea of youngsters, their proud parents, all gleaming with joy along with the official brand ambassador ‘Kittu’ dancing away amid heavy cheering. Sports Minister RK Roja along with members of the Sports Department too attended the closing ceremony that saw an impressive laser show and a world-class fireworks act.

CM Jagan highlighted the key achievements of the Aadudam Andhra campaign. He said: “Approximately 25.4 lakh players participated in a total of 3.3 lakh competitions held at the village level, 1.24 lakh at the Mandal level, 7,346 at the constituency level, 1,731 at the district level, and 260 competitions at the state level, all in just 47 days.’ He added, ‘I am happy to announce that the YSRCP government provided sports kits worth Rs 37 crore, cash prizes worth over Rs 12.21 crore, along with giving our talented sportsmen from rural areas an opportunity to compete and excel.”

The sports franchises will help the young players transform into professional players in their respective games and nurture them for the next phase of their sporting journey.

CM Jagan stated, “Aadudham Andhra acted as an awareness drive where we endeavored to encourage everyone to adopt a healthy lifestyle and actively take part in sports. At the same time, we wanted to provide a platform to the youth to showcase their talent, get scouted, and then excel at the national and international level.”

14 youth scouted:

1. Cricket

CSK

- K. Pavan (Vizianagaram)

- KVM Vishnu Vardhini (NTR)

Andhra Cricket Association

- Ch. Shiva (East Godavari)

- Kumari Gayatri (Kadapa)

2. Kabbadi:

Pro-Kabaddi

- Satish (Tirupati)

- Balakrishna Reddy (Bapatla)

- Suman (Tirupati)

Kabaddi Association

- Sandhya (Vizag)

3. Volleyball:

Black Hawks

- M Satyam (Srikakulam)

- S Mounika (Bapatla)

3. Kho-Kho:

AP Kho-Kho Association

- K Ram Mohan (Bapatla)

- E Hemavathi (Prakasam)

4. Badminton:

AP Badminton Association

- A Vamsi Krishna Raju (Eluru)

- M Aakansha (Bapatla)