About 34 lakh players to participate in mega sports festival 'Aadudam Andhra'

TADEPALLI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the first-of-its-kind sporting extravaganza 'Aadudam Andhra' on Wednesday to encourage youngsters to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy held a virtual review meeting with all district collectors and concerned officials at his camp office to check the preparedness on ground.

Chief Minister Jagan said “After conducting Jagananna Aarogya Suraksha, we realized that lifestyle-related disorders are seeing an uptick in our society. One of the best ways to prevent diseases is to exercise and participate in sports. This is how we came up with the concept of Aadudam Andhra. We want to inculcate the habit of maintaining a good lifestyle right from the grassroots level through this festival of sports.”

During the review meeting, Chief Minister Jagan asked all district collectors to ensure that a large number of women participate and that girls were encouraged to develop an interest in sports. He told them to ensure the distribution of high-quality kits, which was the responsibility of the state government. He also told the collectors to personally monitor the event and increase its efficiency.

“We have to create festive-type buzz to spread awareness amongst the youngsters for this program and district collectors should strictly monitor that this is being done effectively on ground,” he said.

Chief Minister Jagan said that the YSRCP government planned to make Aadudam Andhra an annual program to be conducted every year in December. “Going forward, we will make Aadudam Andhra a permanent program and have this kind of a sports festival every year in December,” the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister said, “The officials should ensure that a thorough talent search operation is being conducted and talented sports stars from Andhra Pradesh are hand-held and provide professional training and mentorship.”

Interacting with the brand ambassadors of Aadudam Andhra who were present at the meeting, YS Jagan said, “The objective behind Aadudam Andhra is that we want many more PV Sindhu(s), Kadambi Srikanth(s), Ambati Rayadu(s) to emerge from Andhra Pradesh.”

Attributing the idea of Aadudam Andhra to Chief Minister Jagan, Sports Minister RK Roja said, “Youth is our priority, we want to support them in all possible ways. Along with quality education, we want to provide them with adequate opportunities to prove their might in sports as well. Only a visionary leader like Chief Minister Jagan could come up with a unique initiative like this which is bound to have far reaching and long lasting benefits.”

As many as 34 lakh players have registered across 15,004 Sachivalayams to participate in the sporting tournaments that commence on December 26, 2023. The state government has recorded over 1.19 crore registrations in all. Over 3 lakh multi-level matches are likely to be played within a span of 47 days.

The Andhra Pradesh government has formed partnerships with renowned sports franchises like Chennai Super Kings, Pro-Kabaddi, Prime Volleyball, PV Sindhu, and Srikanth Kidambi academies to support scouting and mentoring young talent.

The Andhra Cricket Association, Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association, Andhra Kho-Kho Association, Andhra Kabaddi Association, and Andhra Volleyball Association will also hunt for talented sports stars from the state and provide them the right guidance.

This strategic partnership aims to identify and nurture talented athletes at the grassroots level, providing them with unparalleled national and international training and thereafter opportunities.

Selection process

Under this collaborative effort, franchise representatives from each organization will closely monitor matches ranging from the constituency to the state level. They will aim to actively scout for emerging talents who exhibit exceptional skills and have the true spirit of sportsmanship. To enhance the talent search initiative, the Aadudam Andhra Brand Ambassadors and renowned badminton players from Andhra Pradesh, Srikanth Kidambi, and PV Sindhu, have also joined hands to identify exceptional badminton players and help them grow.

Post selection support

After completion of the evaluation process, the selected athletes will receive comprehensive support from the state government in various aspects to help them build a career in sports. From assistance with admission and registration processes, access to professional sports training, and providing opportunities to join prestigious sports academies, the government will handhold the selected candidates throughout.