Sports

Anusha Bareddy from Bandlapalli of Narpala Mandal of Anantapur has been selected for the Indian women’s cricket team who will be represented in the tournament against Bangladesh from 9th to 22nd of this month. Anusha, who played for Emerging India in the Asia Cup held in Hong Kong recently, performed well and attracted the attention of the selectors. A left-arm spinner and batsman, Anusha joined the Anantapur RDT Academy in 2014. With the encouragement of the academy, she excelled at the district, state and zonal levels and finally got a place in Team India. Her parents B. Lakshmidevi and Mallireddy despite being a farmer family encouraged her to play cricket. Anusha said that she has reached this level only with the help of RDT. RDT program director Mancho Ferrer said that Anusha’s career is an inspiration to other athletes. He said that RDT is working with the aim of nurturing new talent.

Anantapur: As part of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which is observed globally on December 3, the Anantapur district administration organised grand and vibrant sports competitions for the differently-abled on Saturday. The event was held under the instructions of the State Government and supervised by the Welfare Department for Differently Abled and Senior Citizens, reflecting the commitment to promote inclusion and empowerment. The sports meet took place in a festive and encouraging atmosphere at the Police Training College grounds. The programme was formally inaugurated by Gadupudi Narayana Swamy, Chairman of the AP Differently-Abled Corporation, in the presence of District Collector O.Anand and several key district officials. The colourful event featured enthusiastic participation from differently-abled individuals across the district, drawing appreciation from all attendees

The combat sport of fencing is mired in neglect, with stakeholders blaming its downfall on ‘faulty’ government policies.When C.A. Bhavani Devi became the first fencer to represent India in the Olympics back in 2020, many budding fencers in Anantapur were delighted, hoping that it would pave the way for government support in the form of better infrastructure in the district for a sport that is expensive to pursue and is predominantly played in metropolitan cities.

Anantapur: M. Anusha, a football player from Anantapur district’s Atmakur, an interior part of the Rayalaseema region, has earned the distinction of being a member of the @indianfootball Senior Women’s squad for an international friendly against the Maldives. The 17-year-old with springy feet has been picked after sweating and fighting it out for 20 days as a member of the U-20 probable’s squad in Bangalore. Her journey began in 2021 at the Rural Development Trust (RDT) Sports Village, which is of international standard.

Rural Development Trust reports on a unique sporting challenge raising funds to improve the living conditions of families in Srisailam, India. 128 runners participated in the fifth edition of the Anantapur Ultramarathon (AUM) on 24 January 2020. These runners were a part of a unique and exciting sports challenge: to run 170km in teams of four through the villages and scenic countryside of Ananthapuramu to enable 39 families in Srisailam to improve their living conditions. A challenge that they accomplished successfully before their run! The AUM was an initiative by Juan Manuel Viera, an ultrarunner from Spain and Rural Development Trust (RDT) volunteer, who decided to run one kilometre for every new child enrolled under RDT’s education and health programmes in Anantapur. ¨The ´1 KM 1 Life´ intiative was born in 2015 out of the idea of linking the value of solidarity and sport together and that is the essence of the Anantapur Ultramarathon,”  said Veira. “Every year when we come back, we see the impact of what we have achieved through the previous editions and that raises our spirits and makes us want to keep going. That is why this year we want to give a special thank you to all RDT staff that support us and make it possible.¨