Vijayawada: Home and disaster management minister Vangalapudi Anitha on Friday inaugurated the 2nd All India Police South Zone T-20 Cricket Tournament 2025–26, stating that the NDA government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is according top priority to sports and youth development.
The five-day tournament began at the APSP 6th Battalion Grounds in Mangalagiri under the aegis of the All India Police Sports Control Board, New Delhi, with the Andhra Pradesh Police hosting the event. Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta attended as the guest of honour.
Ten teams are participating, representing six states — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh — two Union Territories, Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and two Central Armed Police Forces, the NSG and ITBP. The minister and the DGP received a ceremonial guard of honour from the players before declaring the tournament open and releasing balloons to mark the inauguration.
Matches will be held from February 20 to 24 at the Andhra Cricket Association grounds in Mulpudu. On the opening day, Chhattisgarh played Andaman & Nicobar Islands, while Karnataka faced ITBP.
Addressing the gathering, Anitha said Amaravati was being developed as a world-class capital and that the proposed international-standard Sports City would gain momentum from such events. She said national and international tournaments would be hosted in the capital in the future.
Highlighting the role of sports in fostering unity and discipline, she said tournaments provide physical and mental rejuvenation to police personnel. She also urged the DGP to organise a separate sports meet for women police personnel.
DGP Gupta termed the tournament a symbol of unity and service spirit among police forces and said hosting the South Zone T-20 event was a matter of pride for the Andhra Pradesh Police. He recalled the successful conduct of the 2nd All India Weightlifting Cluster Competitions held last October.
For the first time in All India Police sports history, matches from the semi-final stage will be telecast live on DD Sports in 160 countries.
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