Sports will be placed at the forefront: SAAP chairperson

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is determined to place Andhra Pradesh in the forefront of sports, said Animini Ravi Naidu, chairperson of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP), here on Wednesday (August 20). Speaking after inaugurating the zonal-level sports competitions at Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, he noted that National Sports Day would be celebrated in a grand manner in Visakhapatnam on August 29 in memory of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.

Over 2,000 athletes from Nellore, Guntur, Palnadu, Bapatla, NTR, Krishna and Prakasam districts are participating in the ongoing zonal contests. Mr. Ravi Naidu, accompanied by SAAP directors A. Ramana Rao and S. Santosh Kumar, University Physical Education director Paul Kumar and CSR officer Venkata Ramana Manduru, lit the torch to formally launch the competitions.

Mr. Ravi Naidu said winners at district, zonal and State levels would be felicitated with cash incentives and medals by the Chief Minister on National Sports Day. He highlighted that athletes were assured 3% reservation in government jobs without a written test, and every school in the State had been allotted ₹30,000 for sports equipment. Deputy CM K. Pawan Kalyan had also promised 10% of the Panchayat Raj funds for playground development, he added. Minister for Education Nara Lokesh’s efforts in sports promotion were also lauded.

Mr. Ravi Naidu further announced that Andhra Pradesh was working to host the National Games in 2029.