‘Rural sportspersons need govt support’

Srikakulam: There is no dearth of talented sportspersons in villages. But they are unable to use their talents because governments have failed to sponsor them. Those who are in search of better opportunities are migrating to cities. Apart from the government encouraging sports in villages, if corporate companies and factories give importance to village sports, villages too will produce more and more sportsmen, it is said.

Some 25 teams of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha participated in the district-level Volleyball competitions that were held at Mogadalapadu village on the seaside in Gara mandal of Srikakulam district. The finals of the competitions, which began on September 9 under the auspices of Trimex Company, were held on Wednesday.

Aditya team of Mogadalapadu and a team from Tettangi village of Palakonda mandal entered the finals. Aditya team won the finals with a narrow margin. On this occasion, the District Rural Development Agency project director, who was the chief guest, said that the competitions were being held to recognise sportspersons in villages. Also, the government had released funds to provide sports infrastructure in all schools, he said.

He said it was a good thing that companies like Trimex had come forward to encourage sports in villages. “In this manner it is possible to train sportspersons for national level competitions,” he said. Trimex representative Neel Kumar said that the Volleyball competitions were held on the seaside to encourage village sportspersons. Later, he distributed prizes to the winners.