Dr Mandava Koteswara Rao, alumnus and head of the physical education department of the school, highlighted that the college offers coaching in 23 sports for interested students. Photo | Express
Vijayawada: SRR and CVR Government Degree Colleges, Vijayawada, have become prominent institutes in sports, training students to become international athletes. Both the colleges have produced dozens of international and hundreds of national sportspersons.
The college has produced many champions, including Olympian Bommadevara Dheeraj, renowned archer Cherukuri Lenin who coached the Indian team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and Sports Authority of India archery coach Motkuri Chiranjivi Fani Bhushan Rao.
Other notable alumni include Naveen Kumar, coach at the Andhra Pradesh Sports Department, national level kabaddi player and TC of South Central Railway M Maria Munika, national level swimmer Motukuri Tulsi Chaitanya, Asian Games soft tennis player Nealakuditi Anusha and cricketers DGJ Chaitanya and E Kautilya Kumar who have also played in the Ranji Trophy and Viji Trophy.
Speaking to TNIE, college principal Dr K Bhagya Lakshmi said, “Our institution has always prioritised sports. We ensure attendance based on students’ participation in sports tournaments, offer five grace marks to medal winners and allocate extra credits to students who excel in sports. This ensures that students’ education is not hindered. From identifying talent to providing PD guidance and organising the sports calendar, we support our athletes throughout the year. This support has resulted in many tournament victories and international representation that have brought pride to our institution.”
Dr. Mandava Koteswara Rao, alumnus and head of the physical education department at the school, highlighted that the school offers instruction in 23 sports to interested students. He stressed the importance of sports and said that the tradition of inducing students into sports continues to this day. He also said that he hopes that Dheeraj, who is currently competing in the Olympics, will win a medal and further increase the profile of the school.
Dr Dasari Yugandhar, another head of physical education, told TNIE that the college is actively working with sports associations and alumni athletes to provide the best possible training to students. The college is also looking into incorporating yoga into the curriculum. SRR & CVR Government Degree College always sends 30-50 students to inter-university tournaments across India and they regularly win.
The university was originally affiliated to Andhra University, later came under Acharya Nagarjuna University and is currently affiliated to Krishna University.
MSGK Gopalakrishna Sharma won his first medal in the Inter-University Weightlifting Tournament in the academic year (1979-1980) and student KV Suresh won the gold medal in gymnastics in the academic year (2012-2013), bringing the first medal to Krishna University.
This success does not stop at individual achievements as the seven-member women’s kabaddi team from the college won medals in the inter-university competition for the second consecutive year.One of the top three colleges in the state, SRR and CVR Government Degree College offers training in sports like Kho-Kho, Kabaddi, Volleyball, Football, Basketball, Badminton, Archery, Soft Tennis, Cricket, Athletics, Softball, Handball and Chess.