Category Archives: Sports

Sensory Park for differently abled, Braille press to come up

February 18, 2015About Seemandhra / Andhra Pradesh, Business & Economy, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Sportsadmin

A Sensory Park at Kurnool, Braille printing press at Guntur and Regional Centre for Rehabilitation of Physically Challenged in Nellore district are among the facilities the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will set up in Andhra Pradesh.

This was announced by Union Minster for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot here on Saturday.

The State Government had agreed to allot land for the Regional Centre for Rehabilitation of Physically Challenged.

Eleven districts in the State would have District Disability Rehabilitation Centres.

“At the Sensory Park the arrangements are such that the visually challenged, hearing impaired and physically challenged would sense the flowers, colours, etc. of a park,” the Union Minster said.

Zonal Sports Complex

For the multi-crore Zonal Sports Complex sanctioned to the city, the State Government would have to allot land, he said.

Asked on the necessity for increasing accommodation for girl students, particularly on Andhra University campus, the Union Minister said that funds would be released for providing facilities to the SCs, OBCs, physically challenged and other eligible sections.

The university should, however, make a representation to the Ministry.

The Ministry would also provide funds for providing lifts, ramps and toilets at public utility places such as hospitals and bus stations for making them accessible to physically challenged persons.

The Collectorate and District Courts Complex here were sanctioned lift and ramps.

The budget allocation for the Ministry was Rs. 6,500 crore under social justice wing and Rs. 565 crore for physically challenged rehabilitation section.

Visakhapatnam MP K. Haribabu lauded the Ministry for brining out a compendium of its schemes and programmes for people to understand what it was doing and what help they could get.

Mr. Gehlot said the Indian team had won 33 medals at the Asian Para Olympics held in South Korea recently. India beat Pakistan in the final of World Cup cricket tournament for the blind.

International para sports meet

The Government was planning to host an international para sports meet by spending Rs. 20 crore, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – February 15th, 2015

City to Get South India’s First Sports Complex for Diff-Abled

February 15, 2015Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sportsadmin

Visakhapatnam :

Social justice camps will be conducted in all the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh to distribute aid to the differently-abled, which would give them an opportunity to empower themselves in life, said Union minister for Social Justice Thaawar Chand Gehlot, here Saturday.

The Central government has organised these camps in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Tirupati and Anakapalle, and distributed welfare aid worth `5 crore to the differently-abled so far.

Speaking at a social justice camp organised at Anakapalle, the minister said that the Centre initiated various steps to iempower the differently-abled and senior citizens in the country. The department has decided to provide lifts and ramps in all government offices and hospitals for the benefit of the differently-abled. Rehabilitation and training centres will be established in every district, he informed.

The Union government was committed to the welfare of the physically and mentally-challenged people. “The government allocated `6,500 crore for the social justice department and another `560 crore for the department of disability affairs to protect the interests of the differently-abled,” he reiterated.

The minister also revealed the Central government’s plans to introduce e-vidya system for the benefit of differently-abled apart from providing them with educational loans at a subsidised interest rate of four per cent to pursue higher studies.

Anakapalle Parliament member M Srinivasa Rao requested the Union minister to facilitate sanctioning of a National Institute of Spinal Surgery unit at Anakapalle to provide better treatment for the victims of road accidents. State ministers P Sujatha, P Raghunadha Reddy and Ganta Srinivasa Rao elaborated on the welfare measures initiated by the state government.

Later, Gehlot told mediamen in Visakhapatnam that the Union Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment will establish five sports complexes for the differently-abled in five zones of the country. “The only sports complex for differently-abled in South India will be constructed in Visakhapatnam and we have asked the state government to provide necessary land in this regard.”

The Union government would also provide `6 lakh for the cochlear implants towards surgeries conducted for children below six years and provide them a new lease of life.

“Recently, the ministry financed for three children for the cochlear implant in Mumbai. It will conduct camps to distribute motorised tricycles to provide mobility to people with over 80 per cent disability,” he added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / February 15th, 2015

Archers get tumultuous welcome

February 11, 2015Records, All, Sportsadmin

Winners all the way:Archers, who won medals in the National Games in Kerala, being accorded a grand welcome at the Vijayawada Railway station on Tuesday. —Photo: V. Raju.

Volga Archery Academy archers, who bagged three medals — two gold and one bronze — in the ongoing National Games at Kerala, were accorded a rousing welcome on Tuesday.

Amid rhythmic drum beats and chants hailing late Indian coach Ch. Lenin, hundreds of sports buffs and administrators garlanded archers and celebrated their triumph. “This victory is a major one after bifurcation,” said District Sports Development Officer P. Ramakrishna.

The triumph is timely for the academy which is preparing a road map for the 2016 Olympics Games to be held in Brazil. “Vizag lad Biraghi Naidu won gold in the Indian round individual event while 17-year-old Purvasha Sudhir Shinde, the bronze medallist at the Incheon Asian Games, proved her mettle once again by winning gold in the compound individual event. These feats will give the necessary fillip to the archers preparing for the Olympics Games trials,” said academy chairman Ch. Satyanarayana.

He said Naidu, who hailed from Paderu near Vizag, was a natural talent and he will be graduated to recurve segment. “He will be given a special training in recurve and I am sure he will make it to the Indian team,” Mr. Satyanarayana added.

‘Missed the gold

by a whisker’

He said that AP women compound team consisting of Purvahsha, Anusha, Geethika Lakshmi, Jyoshna won the bronze in the team championship but missed the gold by a whisker. “An equipment error cost us the gold medal. Anusha Reddy’s bow developed a snag as the peep went haywire.

She missed a vital shot which affected the team’s prospects in the semifinal,” said team’s coach Ali.

The 22-year-old Naidu tamed the best archers in the fray to win the coveted gold by scoring consistently. He piped Huidom of Manipur and Arun Boro of Assam for the gold.

Satahavana College student Purvasha shot around 145 out of 150 in a consistent manner to outplay experienced archers like Punjab’s Trisha Dev to emerge as champion. “Both the gold medallists will get Rs. 7 lakhs as promised by the State government. The compound team which won the bronze will get Rs. 2 lakh,” said Mr. Ramakrishna.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – February 11th, 2015

Betting on Cockfights Set to Cross Rs.800 Cr

January 15, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sportsadmin

Vijayawada :

Winning big, losing big: That was the essence of cockfights held across the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday, the first day of the three-day Sankranti festival.

Money running into nearly Rs.800-1,000 crore is being pumped into cockfights which went on with no holds barred on the first day despite the Supreme Court order on maintenance of status quo. As the apex court order is being interpreted in either way, police too played safe, allowing the blood sport.

In Vijayawada, women gathered at Gayatri Nagar and took part in the revelry as the cocks fought. It is the first time that cockfighting took place in the city in known times. Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas (Nani) and MLAs Bonda Umamaheswara Rao and Gadde Ramamohan Rao and ZP chairperson Gadde Anuradha turned up at the venue.

The organisers claimed that no betting was involved and that the cocks had no razors tied to their legs.

At Vuyyur, close to the main road, tents were pitched and cockfights were organised without a care in the world. There was huge rush to watch the contests so much so that the organisers had to deploy private security guards to clear traffic.

At Gannavaram, there was a minor clash between two groups over organising cockfights. In a fit of rage, one group set fire to a car belonging to a member of the other group, which led to tension.

Under pressure from politicos, policemen looked the other way as cockfights are organised at several places in the coastal districts. As the Supreme Court order is being interpreted both ways, police did not act. They confined themselves to videotaping the contests so that if necessary they could take action at a later date.

In West Godavari, cockfight organisers formed into a syndicate this time and held the fights in the mandals of Bhimavaram, Eluru Rural, Pedavegi, Pedapadu, Denduluru, Undi, Yelamanchili, Narsapuram, Tanuku, Akiveedu, Palakoderu, Jangareddygudem, Kovvur, Nidadavolu and TP Gudem.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / January 15th, 2015

Andhra man who wowed Tamil Nadu

January 12, 2015Records, All, Sportsadmin

Arikapudi Ramana Rao is a rarity in Indian volleyball.

Not only did he excel for his native state (Andhra Pradesh), Rao also shone in Tamil Nadu, his `second home’.Rao carved a niche for himself as a coach too, becoming in 1986 an FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) instructor, the first Indian to do so.

It is no surprise then that Rao, the national team’s head coach during the Asian volleyball championships in Perth, Australia, in 1991, is among the chosen few to have won both the Arjuna award (in 1977-78) and the prestigious Dronacharya award (in 1990-91).

Born in Chamallapudi village near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, volleyball caught Rao’s attention relatively late, at college.”While studying at Hindu College in Guntur, I used to play both basketball and volleyball regularly since both courts were side-by-side,” recalls Rao.He did well for the college in both disciplines. “There came a point when I had to choose between the two, and I went with volleyball,” says Rao. It was a master-stroke because soon after his graduation, Rao got an offer to join the Southern Central Railway (SCR) team in Hyderabad. “At SCR, I had an opportunity to play in various nationallevel tournaments which gave me the exposure. Soon, I featured in the Indian team which was a huge high,” he says.

In 1970, Rao shifted base to the erstwhile Madras, courtesy an offer from State Bank of India (SBI) “They (SBI) had to wait for about six months before I joined, since Railways were reluctant to relieve me. I had to report on April 30, 1970, and I got my relieving order only a day prior to that,” says Rao. But that didn’t affect Rao’s performance and he soon made his mark with his new employers in his new home. “SBI had a great side, and most of the members were part of the state side.”

He may have been a part of numerous victorious squads throughout his glittering career, but winning the maiden national title for his adopted state remains close to Rao’s heart. “The 1975-76 nationals in Trichy where we won the title were special. We were two sets down in the final, and the crowd, which had gathered in large numbers, left the stadium disappointed. By the time we pulled things back, there were very few left to cheer us,” says Rao.

However, many fans came to congratulate Rao the next day after learning about Tamil Nadu’s spec t a c u l a r w i n through the newspapers. “Be it during a practice session or during a game -we were always cheered by the spectators in Madras.

If not for the crowd, I don’t think there will be volleyball or the players,” he says.

It is thanks to the efforts of the likes of Rao and G E Sridharan, another stalwart from the state that Tamil Nadu remains a force to reckon with in volleyball in the country .

(A weekly column on famous sport spersons whose first playing field was Chennai and its neighbourhood)

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Prasad RS, TNN / January 10th, 2014

Vizagites bid adieu to D.V. Subba Rao

December 22, 2014Sportsadmin

Police band leads the cortege of former Mayor D.V. Subba Rao on Sunday in Visakhapatnam./ Photo C.V. Subrahmanyam

N. Venkata Rao, former general secretary of Andhra Cricket Association and former vice president of BCCI, paid glowing tributes to D.V. Subba Rao who passed away on Saturday.

Subba Rao’s mortal remains were consigned to the flames on Sunday.

D.V. Subba Rao and Venkata Rao were together as president and secretary of ACA from 1991 to 2003 and functioned in close coordination.

They had together accomplished the completion of present international stadium at P.M. Palem in Visakhapatnam for which Subba Rao led from the front.

Venkata Rao recalled the untiring efforts P.R. Narayanaswami, the then convenor of the stadium committee, K. Parthasaradhi, secretary, VDCA, and late R.V.V.K. Prasad, treasurer, who played a significant role behind the scene. Mr. Venkata Rao endorsed the Narayanaswami’s view to name the present international stadium after D.V. Subba Rao and said it would be a fitting tribute to him.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – December 22nd, 2014

Veteran Telugu Sports Journalist M Babu Dies at 74

December 18, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sportsadmin

Veteran Telugu sports writer and journalist M Babu passed away here at his residence on Wednesday.

He was 74 years old. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

He was in good health even at 74, but suffered a suffered cardiac problem in the morning and breathed his last.

He served as a physical education teacher in various Zilla Parishad schools in Krishna district.

Incidentally, his wife happens to be a retired physical education teacher and one of his sons, serves as a physical education teacher in Krishna district.

After retiring as a physical education teacher, he joined Eenadu Telugu daily as a sports writer, before serving in other Telugu dailies like Andhra Jyothi and Vaartha, where he held similar posts.

He was the first Telugu sports journalist in Krishna district and was an authority on all sports. He was a guide as well as mentor to other sports journalists and he was present at all major sports events held in the city.

Journalists in the city affectionately called him “babai” (uncle) in Telugu.

Sports journalists, members of sports associations and local politicians visited his house to pay their last tributes to him.

source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook / Home / Vijayawada – December 17th, 2014

Hopes of Reviving Badminton Glory in City Brighten

December 3, 2014Sportsadmin

Vijayawada :

Once considered the cradle of badminton tournaments in Andhra Pradesh, Vijayawada is eagerly looking forward to the 79th Senior National Badminton Championship scheduled to be held in the city in January-February, 2015, to revive its past glory.

After a long gap of 34 years, the city will be hosting the national badminton championship, which will be the basis of selection for five international tournaments – German Open, All England Championship, French Open, India Open and Sudirman Cup.

Remembering the heydays of badminton in Vijayawada and how the city became the training ground for many international players, Punnaiah Choudary K Ch, general secretary of Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association says it all started in 1976, when the South Zone Inter-State Badminton Tournament was organised at Electricity Board Hall.

The likes of Prakash Padukone, the then reigning champion played in the tournament, which saw an overwhelming response. Considering the interest of people of Vijayawada in sports activity, the then district collector Santhanam, along with sub-collector AVS Reddy and municipal commissioner GP Rao, took the initative to get funds for the construction of the sports ground in 20 acres, which today is known as IGMC Stadium, he said.

The team of officials, later on played a vital role in the construction of Dandamudi Rajagopal Rao Indoor Stadium. The works commenced in 1979 and the indoor stadium with four badminton courts was ready by 1980.

The inaugural tournament at the stadium was the Senior National Badminton Championship and it witnessed a sensational victory of Syed Modi over Prakash Padukone.

However, since the government changed in 2004, the downfall of the stadium commenced. In 2005, all sports academies across the state including badminton and other academics in Vijayawada were closed by the government.

“In all, 800 boys and girls were getting trained in different sports in about five different academies at the time,” Chowdary said.Around the same time, Pullela Gopichand started his academy in Hyderabad and the focus of badminton was shifted to that place. Then on, no major badminton tournament was organised anywhere else in the state other than Hyderabad.

“We are eagerly looking for the tournament and are hoping to see the past glory of badminton again in the city,’’ D Srinivas, a middle-aged sports enthusiast said. Stadium authorities are now busy making the arrangements for the tournament.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / December 02nd, 2014

Kalyan gets KDCA head coach job

December 3, 2014Sportsadmin

D. Kalyan Krishna / Photo: By Arrangement

Former Andhra medium pacer Doddapaneni Kalyan Krishna is a mightily pleased man for he got an opportunity to serve city cricket in a fruitful manner.

Andhra Cricket Association, in an executive committee meeting held recently made Kalyan Krishna the head coach of Krishna District Cricket Association (KDCA) with special emphasis to improve the standards of senior and under-19 segments.

“Along with other coaches I will streamline the activities and instil confidence in players. My efforts will be to produce more number of players for Andhra teams,” said Kalyan, who called it a day from first class cricket early this year.

Incidentally, Kalyan made his debut in 2002-2003 against Mumbai and in a career spanning 12 years he took 154 wickets in the Ranji Trophy with five five-wicket hauls in 51 outings.

He said he will be organising clinics both for batting and bowling and attend nets to help rookies play the game properly. “The ongoing Power League will conclude in the first week of December. I will interact with all the clubs to chalk out a plan to popularise the game among youngsters”.

KDCA organises three leagues — Power League, ‘B’ Division and inter-school — every year. Many avid cricket followers felt that more tournaments were required to keep the players busy and help them get the playing experience.

“The standard of cricket in Vijayawada and in Krishna District has reached new low. We need to rope players like Kalyan to rejuvenate the game,” felt a veteran cricketer. With the new grounds coming up at Moolapadu at city’s outskirts, the association can use serves Kalyan more effectively now.

ACA director M.S.K. Prasad said that efforts were on to revive some of the defunct tournaments in the districts. “Tournaments like Ranga Rao memorial tourney at Rajahmundry, Baba memorial at Eluru, Nessys and Welcome Trophies in Vijayawada and K.N.V Prasad Memorial Tournament at Guntur were popular until 90s. Many players, who played these tournaments regularly, went on to become Ranji players. We will like to put these tourneys back on the track,” Mr. Prasad said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by J. R. Sridharan / Vijayawada – November 26th, 2014

Taking it in her stride, she wins bronze

November 25, 2014Sportsadmin

The frail looking class VII student, M. Satyavathi, bagged bronze in Snatch and Clean and Jerk in the recently conducted AP Women’s Weightlifting Championship.

A student of Government Residential School for Visually Challenged Girls at Sagar Nagar, she competed with regular weightlifters and bested them with a bronze.

“It was very nice getting a medal, there were many competitors and they were helpful too. They congratulated me on my medal,” Satyavathi said. She is a very committed performer and with a little encouragement she can win a medal at the Paralympics, school principal Nimton Babu said. Her parents are fisherfolk who can barely make both ends meet and as a result Satyavathi is what she is a frail 13-year-old who does not seem capable of the feat.

“If someone can help her with a proper protein diet, she can beat everyone else in any championship,” the principal added. The students have trained without proper sports equipment. “The principal believes that the students are capable of achieving great heights and the teachers too are very cooperative and this has helped the students train for competitions,” their physical education teacher said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News>Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – November 25th, 2014

Andhra Pradesh First

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