Visakhapatnam seeks synthetic track to boost athletics talent in Coastal Andhra

Following the selection of Jyothi Yarraji and M Venkataram Reddy for the Asian Games, athletics officials have renewed their demand for a synthetic track in Visakhapatnam, saying it will help nurture talent, improve training facilities and enable the city to host national competitions

Hyderabad: Close on the heels of the selection of Andhra athletes Jyothi Yarraji (100m hurdles) and M Venkataram Reddy (800m) for the forthcoming Asian Games, there has been a growing demand for a synthetic track in the Port City of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).

Interestingly, there is no synthetic track in Andhra Pradesh except the one on the Nagarjuna University campus in Guntur district.

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“This will be of great use to young athletics talent across Coastal Andhra. And, given the kind of performances athletes like Jyothi and Venkataram have been producing at the highest level, we are sure many more such gifted young talents can be scouted and groomed into champion performers,” says M Narayana Rao, General Secretary of the Visakhapatnam District Athletics Association.

“This has been a long-pending dream and, with the State Government making all efforts to promote Visakhapatnam, which is being projected as the economic capital of Andhra Pradesh, on the global front in many sectors, we feel it will be good to consider this proposal in the right earnest,” Mr Rao told *Telangana Today*.

“It is a pity that the City of Destiny does not have even one synthetic track, and many athletes still train on mud tracks. We badly need a synthetic track,” he said.

“In this regard, we have submitted a memorandum to the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh for the immediate sanction of a 400m synthetic track,” Mr Rao said.

“Despite producing five international athletes, including Olympians and Asian medallists, Visakhapatnam district badly needs a synthetic track. Many athletes are being forced to train on mud tracks or travel to Hyderabad or Bengaluru for advanced training,” he pointed out.

“It is important to note that Vizag’s coastal climate allows year-round training, making it ideal for a High-Performance Athletics Centre for North Coastal Andhra. The proposed track will serve talent from Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Alluri Sitharama Raju and Anakapalli districts, benefiting a population of over two crore,” the senior official said.

“Importantly, this kind of facility will also help us host major national events such as the Federation Cup and the National Championships,” he said.

“We are certainly optimistic that our 15-year-long demand, backed by several representations to the Government in the past, will be considered positively,” Mr Rao said.