AP's Bounty To Srikanth Kidambi, Gopichand Pullela

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today announced Rs 50 lakhs to champion badminton player Srikanth Kidambi for winning the Australian Open Super Series.

The Chief Minister also announced a house site and a Group I post for Kidambi, and Rs 15 lakhs for his coach Pullela Gopichand.

Naidu praised the high-achieving shuttler effusively while felicitating him at the Tummalapally Kalakshetram in Vijayawada. The AP CM also played badminton with Kidambi, and had a brief talk.

Speaking later, the AP CM called upon the students and youth of the state to compete among themselves to settle in life. Getting jobs through education was only one of several possible ways to settle down in life, and playing sports at the national and international levels was also an increasingly practical option, he said. The government would recognize talented sportsmen who brought name and fame to the state, he averred.

"For example, though there are some norms coming in the way, I am giving Srikanth a Group I post," he said.