Nallapadu (Guntur Dist): Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy declared open the 47-day sports festival Aadudam Andhra that would be held across the State till Feb 10, 2024.

As part of the inauguration, the Chief Minister handed over the Aadudam Andhra torch to the players who went round the ground amidst cheers by the spectators. After releasing balloons into the air, he also administered the oath to players and handed them over sports kits.

Inaugurating the sports festival at the Loyola Public School grounds here on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said that the Government has decided to organise Aadudam Andhra with two objectives in mind and it would become yet another milestone in the State history.

While the first objective is that it would serve as a massive fitness exercise for the youth and help them maintain good physical fitness, it would also help the Government identify the talented youth so that further steps would be taken to encourage them.

In Pics: CM YS Jagan Launches "Aadudam Andhra" Program and Displays Cricket Skills

Throughout the festival which would be held in more than 9000 school, college, university and SAAP (Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh) playgrounds, an awareness campaign would be launched on the necessity of physical exercises that could help control blood pressure and sugar levels, he said.

The event would be held in December every year, the Chief Minister said, and added that sports competitions would be held at the village, mandal, district, constituency and State level.

Players from professional teams like Chennai Super Kings and Andhra Cricket Association have come forward to witness the Cricket matches, identify the talented youth and train and encourage them further.

Similarly, international players Kidambi Srikant and PV Sindhu have come forward to help identify the talented youth in badminton while Prime Volleyball and Pro Kabaddi have also come forward to spot the talented in the respective areas, he said.

Soon, Kidambi Srikant and PV Sindhu will also launch their Badminton Academies for training the youth in Visakhapatnam and Tirupati where the Government has allotted necessary land. The talented youth would be encouraged at the national and international levels.

He said that 34 lakh youth have come to participate in the sports events in all while more than 1.20crore people have registered to attend and watch the sports festival across the State.

CM tries his hand

The Chief Minister went round the ground and mingled with the players interacting with them and examining the kits. He took stance and played some cricket shots after which he also played badminton with the players for a while.

‘ఆడుదాం ఆంధ్రా’ క్రీడా పోటీలను ప్రారంభించిన సీఎం @ysjagan గారు.. అనంతరం క్రికెట్ ఆడి అందరిలో ఉత్సాహం నింపారు. #AadudamAndhra #CMYSJagan pic.twitter.com/Ccn2WhMomS
— YSR Congress Party (@YSRCParty) December 26, 2023