Andhra Pradesh: Give your maximum to excel in life, students told

Vijayawada: Renowned athlete, sprinter and  Padmasri awardee P.T. Usha said the state and central governments were  encouraging sportspersons by providing all basic amenities. She visited the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh office in Vijayawada on Monday. Nallapuraju Bangarraju, MD, SAAP welcomed her. He introduced the officers and athletic coaches to Ms Usha. She visited the municipal stadium. They discussed the athletic development techniques and training schedules. Ms Usha suggested some ideas for development of sports. Mr. Bangarraju had felicitated P.T. Usha with a shawl. 

She said she was very happy to visit Amaravati, which is being developed in all aspects along with sports. P. Ramakrishna OSD, SAAP, Vasudevarao, engineering advisor, SAAP, Srihari Mohan, SAAP, B. Srinivas DSDO, SAAP, and coaches also participated. Later, Ms Usha visited VIVA, a school run by Vasireddy Venkatadri Institute of Technology (VVIT), Nambur, in  Guntur district. Hundreds of students,  along with Vasireddy Vidya Sagar, chairman of VVIT, welcomed her.

She addressed the students and tried to motivate them to actively take part in sports. She said that the credit of all her achievement goes to her parents and coach. She exhorted the students to work hard with a focus to fulfil their dreams. On Monday, Ms Usha appeared as energetic as she was during her early days of career, when she was young. She expressed happiness over having an opportunity to spend some time with children, the future and hope of the country. 

She asked the students to identify their area of interest and work with dedication to excel in that field. She also recalled several incidents that inspired her to achieve awards.Mr. Vasireddy Vidya Sagar hailed Ms Usha as a role model for the younger generation. He opined that students aspiring to excel in sports must follow the footsteps of Ms Usha, and try to bag national and international medals.Mr. Badari Prasad, secretary, M. SreeKrishna, academic secretary, C.T. Joshi, vice-principal of VIVA  were present. They too spoke to Ms Usha and tried to share their views with her.