Wielding willow, YS Jagan launches mega sports event “Aadudam Andhra” in Guntur

GUNTUR: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched the first-of-its-kind sporting extravaganza, the Aadudam Andhra sports event at Loyola Public School grounds in Guntur here on Tuesday.

After launching the sports event, YS Jagan taught cricket skills to Minister for Tourism RK Roja. The Chief Minister took the bat and played two balls served to him as several politicians, senior bureaucrats and guests watched him with awe. The tournament would be held for 47 days from December 26, 2023 to February 10, 2024.

Speaking on the occasion, YS Jagan said, “The mega sports event being organised across the State is aimed at creating awareness about the health benefits of exercise and sports. It serves as a campaign to convey the importance of sports for good health. Exercising regularly can help to maintain blood pressure under control. Sports are active in preventing type 2 diabetes. Every step shows how important exercise is.”

The Chief Minister said that through village clinics and family health doctor concepts, the State Government had taken steps to make the whole country proud of preventive care at the village level. As a part of it, the Aadudam Andhra program was undertaken to take the message to the village level that exercise was essential, he said.

YS Jagan said that the mega sports event was the first-ever sports competition in Andhra Pradesh from village/ward secretariat level to State level. Sports festivals were being celebrated in a festive atmosphere from village/ward secretariat to the state level in cricket, volleyball, kabaddi, kho-kho and badminton doubles. “The State Government's intention is to find budding sports talent in the villages. IPL team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) have come forward to extend support to the tournament,” he said.

Highlighting the initiatives taken by the Government for sports, the Chief Minister said Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu have come forward to encourage more number of badminton players in the State as mentors. Lands were allocated to the duo in Visakhapatnam and Tirupati and the State Government would support them in setting up their academies. Similarly prime volleyball and pro kabbadi have come forward to encourage volleyball and kabaddi, he said and added that through this program, health awareness and another kind of talent hunt was also being done in the villages.

YS Jagan said that about 34.19 lakh sportspersons from across the State have registered to participate in this mega sports event. About 88.66 lakh people came forward and registered as spectators. “We have already identified as many as 9,000 playgrounds within the 15,000 secretariats. We have identified Government schools, college grounds, university grounds, municipal stadiums and district sports complexes. We will also take up the programme of giving kits to schools", he said.