State finals open at Sri Venkateswara University after 2,07,498 constituency-level players; SAAP takes an Asian Book of Records certificate.

The state finals opened at Sri Venkateswara University. The Sports Authority took an Asian Book of Records certificate. The meet runs four days.

On Monday, 24 August 2026, the four-day state-level Amaravati Championship-2026 began in Tirupati. The event entered the Asian Book of Records for large-scale participation recorded during earlier rounds, on the Monday opening account. Sports and Youth Services Minister Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy, Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad, Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha and Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh chairman Ravi Naidu formally inaugurated the championship at the Tarakarama Ground of Sri Venkateswara University. The Asian Book of Records team presented a certificate to Ravi Naidu. A certificate presented at an inauguration is the opening-card fact. This desk will not convert it into an independent audit of every earlier-round entry.

Constituency-level rounds across all 175 Assembly constituencies from 15 to 30 July attracted 2,07,498 players, including 1,42,306 boys and 65,192 girls, on this Monday opening story. District-level competitions from 6 to 15 August drew around 83,650 players. Top performers qualified for Tirupati. 2,07,498, 1,42,306, 65,192 and around 83,650 are the opening-card counts. This desk will keep them.

A conflict with earlier preview cards must be recorded and not merged. A prior preview of the same championship said 12,428 young athletes at the state meet. Another preview used about 2.07 lakh for constituency rounds and did not match 12,428 as the Tirupati gate. This Monday opening story uses 2,07,498 and around 83,650. It does not repeat 12,428. This desk will not drop 12,428 into the opening body. The four-day event, 24 to 27 August, is live today and stays through Thursday.

Ramprasad Reddy said the championship had run over two months from constituency to state level, with academies, infrastructure and incentives. Satya Prasad said the coalition was promoting a balance of education and sport. Anitha said parents were becoming more supportive of children pursuing sports. Those are ministerial remarks at the opening. They are not a budget gazette.

Ravi Naidu said Tirupati was chosen for its sports infrastructure. Recalling student concerns during Nara Lokesh’s padayatra over playgrounds, he said Lokesh had assured facilities in a city with seven universities and around two lakh students. A ground at Gollavanigunta, an indoor stadium named after N.T. Rama Rao at the women’s university, and Sri Venkateswara University sports-complex and academy plans were cited by him. Seven universities and around two lakh students are his figures. The named facilities are his citations. This desk will not invent a commissioning date for Gollavanigunta or for the indoor stadium.

The programme ended with a sports pledge and an anti-drug pledge as part of National Sports Day observances.

Tirupati holds the Tarakarama Ground and Sri Venkateswara University. Form B and any poll date are not notified.

Until Thursday’s last event is run, the public ledger is a Monday opening of a four-day state final; an Asian Book of Records certificate presented to Ravi Naidu; 2,07,498 constituency-level players, 1,42,306 of them boys and 65,192 girls, across 175 constituencies from 15 to 30 July; around 83,650 at district level from 6 to 15 August; an inauguration by Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy, Anagani Satya Prasad, Vangalapudi Anitha and Ravi Naidu; ministerial lines on academies, education-and-sport balance and parental support; Ravi Naidu’s citation of seven universities, around two lakh students, Gollavanigunta, an N.T. Rama Rao indoor stadium and university sports-complex plans; and a sports pledge with an anti-drug pledge. 12,428 stays on the older preview. It does not enter this opening body.