Hyderabad: Praising the eminent founder of premier photo and news agency, Snaps India, late M.A. Rahim for pioneering photojournalism in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, State Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali said here on Saturday that his sons, who all are into photography and serving the media for decades together, were doing wonderfully well in upholding the values and integrity for which Rahim Saab had stood for, all through his remarkable career.

The Minister was speaking after inaugurating a daylong photo exhibition on the FIFA World Cup 2022 held in Doha, Qatar, at Jubilee Hills International Centre (JHIC). On exhibit were 100 select shots of the football extravaganza that were captured by Snaps India’s CEO Mohd Shamsuddin, who was the only FIFA accredited photojournalist from Telangana State and Andhra Pradesh at the sports spectacle.

The exhibition was curated by internationally-acclaimed photo journalist and a recipient of the coveted Royal Photographic Society award, T. Srinivas Reddy, who is based in Vijayawada.
Mahmood Ali said that Mr Shamsuddin had done well by going beyond photography and emerging as a sports promoter by launching Academia Sports Village. He wished the entity all success as it readies its own tennis courts and a football ground in Aziz Nagar in the city outskirts.
Snaps India and Academia Sports Village drew wholesome praise from all the dignitaries present on the occasion for their immense contributions towards elevating photography and sports.

They included British Deputy High Commissioner Gareth Wynn Owen; Honorary Consul of Bulgaria Lion Dr. Y. Kiron; Director, State Gallery of Art Dr K. Lakshmi, IAS, and the multi-faceted P.V. Prabhakar Rao, son of former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.
Shamsuddin assured to take forward his mission to make sports accessible to all sections of people.