Players draw inspiration from P V Sindhu: Deputy CM P Pushpa Srivani

Vizianagaram: Deputy Chief Minister P Pushpa Srivani, Minister for Municipal Administration Botcha Satyanarayana and Sports, Youth Welfare and Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasarao here on Saturday kick-started the State-level CM Cup Kho-Kho tournament in a grand manner. Over 450 players from 13 districts across the state are participating in the three-day event.

Speaking on the occasion, Pushpa Srivani said all the players in the state should take inspiration from world badminton champion P V Sindhu. "Though we defeat in competitions, we should not lose confidence. Our Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is much interested to promote sports and sports persons should avail the facilities and opportunities available in our state," she said.

Muttamsetti Srinivasarao said the Rajiv Stadium in the city would be developed on all aspects to groom the sports talent. He added grants for establishment of Kabaddi Academy would be released to encourage Kabaddi competitions at national level. The minister said that students should actively participate in games and sports to maintain fitness and sound mind.

He asked the parents of children to identify the latent sports skills among children and encourage them to participate in respective games. Botcha Satyanarayana called upon the youth to avail the facilities in Rajiv Stadium to achieve good success.

He said that steps would be taken to set up more playgrounds in the city. MP B Chandra Sekhar, MLAs S V Ch Appala Naidu and Badukonda Appalanadu participated in the programme.