Andhra Pradesh felicitates CWG medallists

Hyderabad: Shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta and shooter Gagan Narang were among the sportspersons who were felicitated by the Andhra Pradesh government for their medal winning performance in Delhi Commonwealth Games, here on Saturday.

Governor ESL Narasimhan and Chief Minister K Rosaiah handed over cash awards to the sportspersons and their coaches besides felicitating them at a function organised at the city`s Jubilee Hall. Apart from the citation, players winning gold, silver and bronze medals were also given cash awards of Rs 10 lakh, 7.5 lakh and 5 lakh respectively by the state government. Congratulating the medallists, the Governor said these sportspersons had done the state and the nation proud. "Sports brings in the values of dedication, commitment and discipline. In some countries military training is mandatory and I think, sports should also be made compulsory," Narasimhan said. "We need to grow the culture of sports. We need to support the players when they are on a high and also when they are down," he added. The Governor further said Andhra Pradesh government, as part of sports promotion initiative, was providing the best of infrastructure to the players to encourage them. Chief Minister and State Minister for Youth Services and Sports, Komati Reddy Venkata Reddy also congratulated the sportspersons for their achievements. Tennis star Sania Mirza, weightlifter V Srinivas Rao, athlete Sathi Geetha, shuttler P Kashyap, archers C Jignas and Ritul Chatterjee, besides chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand were also felicitated on the occasion. The parents of shooter Asher Noria and athlete Abdul Najeeb Qureshi were presented with the awards in their absence. Later, speaking to media, Narang, who won four medals in the CWG, said, "With Asian Games coming up next month, the preparations are on the right track. Let`s hope for the best". "We can beat any country...if we have the right kind of support from the people of the nation," he added. Saina said she was looking forward to play and win medal in the Asian Games. Asked on her chances of winning, she said, "With Chinese also playing, its going to be very tough. But, if I can play with the same level of confidence, I can (win a medal). I`m ready for the Asian Games." PTI