Hyderabad to host
2002 National Games

Hyderabad will host the 2002 National Games from November 15 to 25, according to Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi.

Making the announcement in Hyderabad on Monday evening, Kalmadi said Andhra Pradesh has eight to nine months at its disposal to finalise the arrangements and set up the sports infrastructure needed to stage the big event.

Saying the Games would attract 10,000 sports persons from all over the country, he informed that it is AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu's hope that Hyderabad becomes a sports city by hosting the Games. He said the state government would spend Rs 150 crore on creating world-class sports infrastructure.

Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited has been entrusted the job of constructing the Games village on a 58-acre site at Gacchi Bowli, on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The village, he said, would be ready by November.

Kalmadi lauded the achievements of sports persons from Andhra Pradesh who won laurels for the country. He praised Karnam Malleswari, the lone bronze medal winner for India at the last Olympics, and All England badminton champion Pulella Gopichand.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu said the state is fortunate to have world-class players like Malleshwari and Gopichand and added it is looking forward to having more such "Malleshwaris and Gopichands".

He accepted Kalmadi's challenge to see that AP finishes among the top three states in the Hyderabad Games. He said the infrastructure for the National Games is being created at 30 to 35 locations and bout 25,000 volunteers would be mobilised for the Games.

Naidu informed that state governor Dr C Rangarajan would be the chief patron for the Games.

Later, he inaugurated the Olympic Bhavan to house the AP Olympic Association. He announced a Rs 2.5 million contribution towards the Rs 150-million Indian Olympic Association Bhavan in Delhi.