Srinagar: With its snow-covered slopes, glacier-fed rivers and a rising generation of athletes, Jammu and Kashmir has the potential to win Olympic medals in water and winter sports for the country, top Kashmiri athlete Bilquis Mir has said.
Mir, the first Indian female to represent India as a jury member in the 2024 Paris Olympics, said she wants J&K and the country at the highest podium and will continue her efforts in this direction.
The 38-year-old Srinagar girl was all praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his regular interactions with sportspersons and said it is a big moment for a player and a step towards creating a sports culture.
“My dream is to see J&K and the country at the highest podium on the global stage. J&K has the potential to successfully lead India in the water and winter sports at the Olympics because we have natural resources as well as the requisite talent which needs to be tapped,” Mir, the water sports girl, told PTI Videos in an interview here.
Mir, a famous Kayaking and Canoeing player and a recipient of numerous medals including the state award in sports category in 2010, said she had coached young players in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur and many other places within and outside the country but “our children (from J&K) have great potential to go to the Asian Games and Olympics and I feel their future is bright.”
She said the government should engage with prominent players and achievers, as they have expertise in their fields and can assist in making a roadmap for the future.
“I hope rather than one Bilquis Mir, a thousand girls come out from here and make J&K and the country proud,” she said.
Mir was recently in the news after winning her three-year legal battle for quashing an FIR filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, with the Jammu and Kashmir High Court delivering a scathing indictment of authorities, saying it “seems that the people at the helm of affairs are leaving no stone unturned in harassing such talented people”.
Mir’s illustrious 28-year career began at the age of 8, and her achievements include representing India at the 2009 Canoeing and Kayaking World Cup in Hungary, where she finished eighth.
She was the first Indian woman appointed as a judge in the Asian Games (China) and served as national coach for the Women’s team in Kayaking and Canoeing for the London Olympics 2012.
Mir also holds the distinction of being the first Indian woman to earn an International Coaching Diploma from Budapest’s Semmelweis University Institute of Coaching and Sport.
Her coaching roles extend to the chief coach for the women’s national team in the U23 Canoe Slalom World Championship (Italy 2018) and national coach for the ninth Asian Canoe Slalom Championship (Toyama, Japan 2016).
“The long drawn court case was like a mental trauma for me as an athlete, but I am grateful to the judiciary for its amazing verdict and also my well-wishers, my friends and family who stood by me and did not let me break,” she said.
She said the judgment is not only her victory, but the victory of all sportspersons.
The FIR, which the High Court quashed on Friday, claimed that a verification was conducted into allegations that Mir, appointed as a Physical Education Teacher, did not complete her Bachelor of Physical Education course during her probation.
The ACB filed an FIR against Mir in 2023 under the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, charging her with taking gratification beyond legal remuneration for official work and involvement in a criminal conspiracy.
“My belief is that no power in the world can defeat you when your intentions are strong. I want to tell the girls that there will be many obstacles, setbacks, (and) failures but do not give up and fight back,” she said.
While speaking to PTI, she also stated that the Prime Minister is giving due importance to sports, helping create a sports environment in the country.
“Whether a player loses or wins, he interacts with them. This is a very big moment for a player,” she said, recalling her earlier days when having equipment was a dream.
Referring to her journey from Dal Lake in Srinagar to France, she said, “I overcame the challenging situation of the 1990s as I just wanted to represent my country at the highest level.”
“When I came to sports in the 1990s, my struggle started at the door of my house. Because when I wore a tracksuit, the people around looked at it with the wrong perspective and were of the opinion that I would spoil other girls,” she said.
Mir said she had no role model, and that was the reason that it became difficult for her to explain to society at that time.
“We should appreciate our sports personalities and salute their achievements,” she said.
