National Sports Day special: Can national athletes emerge in the wind without encouragement? Andhra Pradesh SAP has become a curse for players

The situation of sports is alarming in Andhra Pradesh and the Andra Pradesh Sports Authority is riddled with issues. The question arises then how can the state produce national-level champions?

Amaravati: 'National level athletes should be produced in the state. An indoor stadium for the constituencies and grounds should be established in each mandal. It should be seen that there is an Indian Premier League (IPL) team from Andhra Pradesh as well." These are the words of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy in the review meetings organized by the sports department.

Although the words of the Chief Minister are crossing the forts, the hands are not crossing the threshold. Adequate funds are not allocated to the State Sports Authority (SAP). Infrastructural facilities are not provided on the sports grounds. There are no regular coaches. Is it possible to produce national-level players without even academies?

If fees are collected even from the poor sportspersons under the 'pay and play' system, and if the sports fields under SAP are put in the hands of private companies, will talented sportspersons be born in the air? What is the benefit to the sportspersons of the Chief Minister Cup sports competitions, which are organized occasionally after spending crores of rupees for political influence, and the 'Adudam Andhra' competitions to be held in October this year?

Wouldn't it have been very useful if four stadiums were built with those funds and infrastructure was provided on the existing grounds? Has the state organized at least one national-level tournament in the last four years? The YSRCP government has stopped the academies that were organized during the previous government under the management of former India spinner Anil Kumble's organization Tenwick. Jagananna Sports Clubs, which were established in the name of promoting sports, remained a favorite for three years.

There are not even half a dozen permanent coaches under the SAP, who are crucial in the preparation of players. About a hundred people are working under the collection services. Their monthly salary is only Rs 15,000. After the introduction of the 'Pay and Play' system, the condition of coaches became more miserable. SAP officials are putting pressure on them to collect fees from the students. In this regard, those who are backward are being urged.

Even small states are allocating crores of rupees for sports. This is a different situation in Andhra Pradesh. The government is funding SAP for employee salaries and other operating expenses. As a result, indoor stadiums, swimming pools, and sports fields under SAP are being handed over to private companies and rented out elsewhere.

The 'pay and play' system also belongs to the same category. The poor and middle-class students, who come to the fields for training are gradually being pushed away by the burden of fees. Even the SAP officials are not spending this income on the development of the grounds. Coaches are paid and the rest of the funds are spent on SAP needs. Due to this, there is a severe lack of infrastructure in Sap Indoor Stadiums and playgrounds in the districts.

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is honoring and providing incentives to the athletes, who have trained at non-state academies at their own expense and are winning medals at the national and international levels. There is no attempt to train the poor sportspersons of the state at the national and international level by setting up academies under SAP. The cash awards proposed for the promotion of talented athletes at the national level are still not fully disbursed.

18 thousand sports kits in Telangana

Meanwhile,the Telangana government is taking many steps to promote sports. Over 17,000 sports grounds have been established across the state. Arrangements are being made to distribute around 18,000 sports kits with 23 sports equipment. The government is giving top priority to encouraging sportspersons in rural areas.