Hyderabad: In a groundbreaking move to promote sports in rural areas, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has decided to launch the ‘CM Cup 2024’. The primary goal of this initiative is to identify hidden athletic talent in villages and provide them with necessary training and support to groom them into champions at the national and international levels, official sources said on Wednesday.
For decades, young athletes in rural areas lacked encouragement and opportunities. However, the Congress government has decided to rejuvenate the sports sector through various initiatives, including the latest proposal to host the CM Cup 2024.
As part of this initiative, sports competitions will be held at village, mandal, district, and state levels across different sports. To inspire a large-scale participation of youth, a grand torch relay will be held across 33 districts.
The relay will begin on Thursday at 4 pm at LB Stadium Tennis Complex, with Revanth Reddy flagging off the event. The torch will travel through Hyderabad city and reach Vikarabad district, continuing its journey across all 33 districts before returning to Hyderabad after 16 days.
During this ceremony, Revanth Reddy will also unveil the official logo and mascot for the CM Cup 2024 and award cash prizes to athletes from Telangana who won at the 2023 National Games held in Goa.
Large-scale participation is expected from athletes, physical education trainers (PETs), and sports associations representatives in every district. District collectors, superintendents of police, and various government departments, in coordination with the District Youth Sports Development Department, have already completed all arrangements for the torch relay's success.
The Telangana Sports Authority urged all officials to extend their full support to this programme, which is designed to be a transformative experience for rural athletes.
