RS Praveen Kumar urges State to reconsider its decision to shutdown 24 sports academies

The MLA raised concern over the impact of this decision on young athletes, who had hoped to rise from poverty through sports

Hyderabad: BRS leader RS Praveen Kumar on Wednesday condemned the Congress government’s decision to shutdown all the 24 social welfare sports academies, shattering the dreams of many aspiring athletes from marginalised communities.

The academies, which were established under former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s administration, aimed to nurture raw talent from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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“Today is another sad day for Telangana. The government has fired all the coaches en masse, effectively shutting down the academies that were chiseled to create sports prodigies from marginalised communities,” Praveen Kumar posted on X.

He raised concern over the impact of this decision on young athletes, who had hoped to rise from poverty through sports. In videos circulating online, children from these academies can be seen pleading with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to reinstate their coaches.

Praveen Kumar also tagged AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Lok Sabha leader Rahul Gandhi and questioned the party’s integrity, pointing out the hypocrisy of the party’s stance.

He said while Rahul Gandhi held the Constitution in one hand, with promises to safeguard it, Revanth Reddy was demolishing the dreams of marginalised sections which the very same Constitution promised which had promised to support them.

“In Haryana, you glorify athletes like Vinesh Phogat, but in Telangana, you are killing the dreams of poor girls aspiring to become the next Vinesh or Babita,” he said, urging the Congress government to reconsider its decision and allow these children to pursue their dreams.