Sports Welfare Hostel honours former athletes on Friendship Day

The Sports Welfare Hostel team felicitated former international and national athletes from the twin cities on Friendship Day in Hyderabad. The event honoured their contributions to sport and brought together several prominent former players and officials for a celebration of lasting friendships

Hyderabad: In a touching gesture, the Sports Welfare Hostel team felicitated some former international and national athletes from the twin cities to celebrate Friendship Day and as a token of gratitude for all the “wonderful support” they have extended to footballers and the sports fraternity in general over the years.

Among those felicitated were G Srinivas Reddy, retired CGM, SBI, and former national footballer; M Yedukondalu, Assistant Commissioner of GST, former football international and a member of the winning team in the Maldives Under-23 tournament. He is also the chairman of the Telangana Coaches Committee.

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Former national basketballer M Srinivas, retired Assistant Commissioner (GST); D Koteshwar Rao, Additional Superintendent of Police and former national athlete; and B Gopinatha, Senior Assistant at Port Trust (Visakhapatnam) and former national basketballer, were also felicitated on the occasion.

The event was held at the Railway Recreation Club indoor basketball court in Secunderabad.

Some of the big names who attended the event included former basketball international Hari Krishna, Olympian S Geetha, Dr Venkateshwara Reddy, Assistant Commissioner and footballer of yesteryears, K Giridhar, CGM of SBI and former national footballer, and Dr Anitha, physical director and former national footballer.

“We thank the committee comprising Venkateshwara Rao (retired APSRTC), Vijay Saradhi, ACP, Telangana Police, and Vishnu Mohan, Superintendent, Customs Department (retd), for their wonderful gesture, which also gave us a chance to go down memory lane and share some wonderful experiences,” the former athletes said.

One of the best-known coaches from the twin cities, E S Shyam, a FIFA licence holder, was a member of the organising committee.