“When people throw stones, you turn them into Milestones.”
Sachin Tendulkar:
Iqbal throws the ball to Mansoor. Mansoor walks to bowler’s end closer to the spectators’stand. Farooq, the wicket keeper calls “come on Mansoor come on…” The playground is filled with cheers for Mansoor, “….Mansoor… Mansoor..!”.Mansoor takes the last wicket for Hangah Cricket Club against the Kutlari Cricket Club. The 100-odd spectators burst into cheers, jumping and dancing.
Immediately after sunrise in Hangah village of North Kashmir’s Kupwara District, hundreds of young men and boys from across the region are seen running towards Cricket and Football fields on the periphery of the village. They have spent the last two months playing Cricket/Football on this field under the hot sun. Since early September, the area has hosted various sporting tournaments and events.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many have become victims of depression due to continuous isolation and inactivity due to the restrictions. Unlock 4.0 brought respite to many sports lovers in the area in Qalamabad, the youth took up the initiative of organising various sports events on these grounds. For people in Kashmir, where life is challenging due to weather & terrorism, watching and playing sports and games is more than a source of entertainment or “time pass”. It offers an escape from the grinding reality of everyday life in the rural areas. The Hangah ground itself witnessed two cricket leagues being played between 32 teams over one month each and one football tournament for three weeks with 16 enthusiastic teams participating.
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In the Valley, due to lack of opportunities, platforms available for the youth to express their enthusiasm and zeal for life are limited. Sports play a major role to wean away the youth from the extremism and to bring them back to the mainstream. Sport’s also emerges as a unifying factor which can not only connect the youth of Valley with other states, but nurture the values of leadership and a sense of achievement. Due to a rising sporting culture, the youth in Kashmir will in years to come emerge as a hub for National & International Sportsmen/ Sportswomen.
Sports and its allied sectors further enhance have turned into a top stream of opportunity.Sports communities can be developed in villages to facilitate smooth functioning and to provide encouraging atmosphere to conduct sports and games activities. Greater emphasis on sports activity will not only compliment security, but will also facilitate greater development. Through such opportunities form educational and social measures, a greater push for sports will strengthen the democratic fabric of Kashmir and enshrine ‘Kashmiriyat’ in the real sense.
The UT has given the country many sports persons in recent times, who have reached the pinnacle of success. What makes their stories more endearing is that their journeys were replete with obstacles which they overcame successfully. There are a large number of rising stars like Nighat (the first Woman Football Coach), Iqra Rasool(State Cricketer) and Tajamal (the under – 8 Kick Boxing World Champion) Iqra Rasool are an inspiration for others. She is from Rafiabad, Baramulla and is a young cricketer who is nurturing the dream of becoming a part of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team. Her inclination towards cricket during her teenage years was met with a lot of criticism.To all those girls hoping to carve out a career in cricket, she says, “I have only one thing to say, believe and trust your dreams.” In a major push to sports in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Government has initiated the process to create state of the art Infrastructure for football, hockey, basketball, badminton, volleyball and athletics.
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The international standard synthetic play fields for various sport disciplines will allow J&K’s sportsperson to practice in a better manner and prepare them to compete and excel in many national and international competitions. The UT has made good progress in sports during the last few years.
Valley’s youth have performed very well in sports. In what seems like a systematic focussing, besides government, Army, Jammu & Kashmir Police (JKP) and paramilitary forces, too, have been encouraging the young Kashmiris to take up sports. Recent announcements by the LG in promoting sports culture and providing a platform to the youth is aimed to make their future bright in sports activities and is a welcome step. Talented youngsters of the Valley have the capacity to compete anywhere in the world but due to lack of exposure and basic facilities, sometimes, they face problems and are not able to showcase their hidden talent. The tournaments serve the purpose of providing a stage for the youth. Government agencies have taken a huge initiative and such sports activities will help the youth to come out from their ‘perceived’ lack of opportunities towards encasing on their skills & talent. Sports lovers are demanding such sports events should continue in the future at a large scale for both boys & girls, aimed to make the sports culture stronger in coming times. While people of Kashmir struggle every day and dream of peace, we can only hope that the youth and children of this ‘Paradise on Earth’ will be free from the chaos and trauma created by inimical elements by manipulating them by using sports as a tool to rise in life and achieve great success.
“Sports do not build character; they reveal it.”