City Police Commissioner A.B. Venkateswara Rao on Tuesday said that Vijayawada was emerging as a sports hub of the new State and hailed the archers for bringing laurels to city, State and the country.
Speaking at the inaugural function of 7th Mini and 37 Junior National archery Championship at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium, Mr. Rao advised the visiting teams from 20 States to visit the nearby places of tourist interest and enjoy the hospitality. He also congratulated the Volga Archery Academy for setting a goal to achieve a medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Mr. Rao suggested Assistant Commissioner of Police S. Srinivas to procure a compound bow and arrows along with target to help officers take up archery as a recreation sport.
Archery Association of India general secretary Anil Kamineni said that city archers Jyothi Surekha and Purvasha were part of the Indian team that won a bronze medal in the Inchon Asian Games. He also exhorted the archers to do well as their performance would help them stake their claim in the future Indian teams.
MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao recollected the role played by late Indian archer and coach Cherukuri Lenin in establishing archery as a medal winning sport in Vijayawada. “I am sure he will get us a medal in Rio Olympics,” he pointed out.
Municipal Commissioner C. Hari Kiran said the corporation had allotted land for the Volga Archery Academy to function effectively in the Gunadala area. He also said that efforts were on to pool up Rs. 1 crore to rope in a Korean coach for advanced training.
The week-long tournament will be held in Indian Round, Compound and re-curve segments for both boys and girls. International archers like Ch. Jignas, Ritul Chatterjee, Purvasha Sudhir Shende and Geethika Lakshmi will be seen in action.
City Mayor Koneru Sridhar, Krishna District Olympic Association secretary K.P. Rao, District Sports Development Officer P. Ramakrishna, VMC Sports and Traffic Committee Chairman Ch. Gandhi and others took part in the function.
