Andhra Pradesh government felicitates Olympic players from state

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday felicitated sports persons from the state who will be participating in the London Olympics.

State Sports Minister V Vasantha Kumar honoured the top sports persons including Sania Mirza and Saina Nehwal in the glittering function.

Others who were felicitated included badminton players Jwala Gutta, P Kashyap, Ashwini Ponnappa,  and V Diju, and rowers Manjeet Singh, Sandeep Kumar and Swaran Singh.

Badminton Chief National Coach P Gopichand, Rowing Coach Ismail Baig and Archery Coach P Ravi Shanker were also honoured on the occasion.

Thanking the state government for the felicitation, all the players hoped to win medals for the country in the Olympics. The minister said the government is promoting sports in a big way.

The government has increased sports budget and also constructing mini stadia in every mandal headquarters. The government would also bring out a new sports policy soon, he added.