Sportswomen from Visakhapatnam returned with a rich haul of medals from the State-level Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan meets held in Guntur and Vijayawada last week.

Collector N. Yuvaraj congratulated the medal winners when they met him here on Monday. Assistant Joint Collector D.V. Reddy, DSDO N. Surya Rao and DEO M.V. Krishna Reddy were also present. Collector urged the sportswomen to work hard and qualify for the international meets and assured them of support from the government.

G. Jyothi, A. Hema, U. Gnaneswari, G. Shara, G. Geyaroopini, S. Marathamma and D. Varalakshmi won gold medals and V. Usha Rani and G. Bharati bronze medals in the boxing competition. B. Uma Sheetal, P. Mounica, P. Bhagyasri and Ch. Aneela won table tennis team silver medal. In swimming event D. Puja Leela Rani, Ishira Banerjee, J. Yagnatha and V. Indrija picked up seven silver medals and six bronze medals. Sk. Alima Begum lifted gold medal in weightlifting and M. Satyavathi bronze. Visakhapatnam team won gold medal in tennis team event and B. Sai Keerthi won silver medal in individual event and another player D. Varshita was selected for the national championships. N. Rajeswari of ZPP High School, Turakalapudi in Butchaiahpeta mandal was selected for Andhra Pradesh team that would be participating in the National meet.Visakhapatnam was runner-up in volleyball and third in kabaddi.