SAAP Chairman Ravi Naidu Finalizes Tender Worth of ₹54 crore Across Andhra Pradesh To Uplift Sports Infrastructure

Despite producing top-notch Olympians like Karnam Malleswari, India’s first woman Olympic medallist (Bronze at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics), P.V. Sindhu, and Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy, Andhra Pradesh (AP) has been a moderate performer at the domestic level. In the last three Khelo India Youth Games, AP is stuck in the middle of the pack (2023-17th, 2024-13th, 2025-18th). To counter this emerging trend in the state, the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) Chairman, Animini Ravi Naidu, finalized a tender of ₹54 crore on Sunday to enhance the state's sporting infrastructure.

The chairman addressed the media conference at the Indra Gandhi Municipal Stadium, stating that the government aims to turn sports into a mass movement and ensure top-class sports infrastructure in every district to nurture international athletes. He later added that the state is aligning its policies with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) ’s focus on Olympic, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games disciplines, as well as the sports policies of different states.

“Sports policies of around 17 states, including Tamil Nadu, were studied as part of the process. Tenders worth about ₹54 crore have been finalised for sports infrastructure across the state. Key projects include development of Kodirammurthy Stadium in Srikakulam, construction of a ₹25-crore modern stadium at Kommadi in Visakhapatnam, a sports school in Vizianagaram this year, and a proposed residential sports school for tribal children in the Araku-Paderu region,” he said.

Foundation Stone Laid at Tirupati

The program allocates 28.3 acres of land in Tirupati for sports development. Naidu laid the foundation stone for a multi-sports training academy in Tirupati on Friday, a project that will be aimed to develop under the cost of ₹ 5 crore. This facility will be designed at par with the national-level standards.

The project at Tirupati will also include the construction of a hostel to accommodate 200 sportspersons. A national-level weightlifting hall with training capacity for around 80 athletes, a meeting hall for 150 participants, and a gymnastics hall are also proposed under the plan.

Key Initiatives For Fair Opportunities

Naidu also confirmed the implementation of 3% horizontal reservation for eligible sportspersons in future government job recruitments. To emphasize transparency after the Kabaddi match-fixing drama this August in Vijaywada, the chairman directed that the sportspersons must participate in SAAP-organized events only and upload their certificates through the sports app every 3 months. For the academies, the deadline to complete all the necessary documentation is set as January 15, 2026.

While the initiatives mark a positive shift towards institutionalizing sporting infrastructure in the state, the success of the policy will depend upon timely execution, strict monitoring, and equitable access at the grassroots level.