Rio Olympics silver medallist P.V. Sindhu and her badminton mentor Pullela Gopichand were given a rousing welcome in the city, where thousands of schoolchildren participated from both Krishna and Guntur districts. The shuttler, her coach and their family members arrived at Gannavaram airport in a chartered plane three hours behind schedule.
Defying the protocol, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu received Sidhu amidst bursting of crackers and vedic hymns. This was followed by a grand meeting held at Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation Stadium, where Mr. Naidu said he would be honouring both Sindhu and Gopichand with prize money of Rs. 3 crore and Rs. 50 lakhs respectively at the concluding day ‘harathi’ ritual of the Krishna Pushkarams at the Pavitra Sanghamam in the evening.
He also announced 1,000 square yards of land at Amaravati and Group 1 job in the State government to Sindhu.
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Hailing her triumph as an inspriration to the youngsters,Mr. Naidu exhorted the youngsters to emulate the shuttler who worked hard with singular dedication.
He also promised to develop international standard sports infrastructure at Amarathi, the new capital city coming up near Vijayawada and announced 15 acres of land to Gopichand for the construction of a world class badminton academy at Amaravati. “In the new capital we have earmarked place for sports city and in which the academy will be built. It will be one of the best academies in the world,” he assured.
The Chief Minister also announced Rs. 25 lakhs to Kidambi Srikanth, who lost in the quarterfinals in the men’s singles and Rs. 25 lakhs to Rajani hailing from Chittor district, who was part of India's women hockey team. “I am offering Group 2 job to both of them,” he said amidst thunderous applause from the public.
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He said he had a taken oath to develop Amaravati as a world class capital city and said he would strive hard to stage Olympics at Amaravati.