AN INSPIRATIONAL KASHMIRI GIRL : BILQUIS MIR
Ms Bilquis Mir is a Kashmiri girl who has made the valley proud by her achievements at national and international levels. Ms Bilquis is the first woman from Jammu and Kashmir and India to have participated in sprint racing world cup in kayaking and canoeing in Szeged, Hungary and to coach a national team. Keeping in view her proficiency at the sport, Ms Bilquis Mir was appointed as a judge in the qualifying rounds of kayaking and canoeing Asian qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held at Pattaya, Thailand in Mar 2020. She was the only Indian among the 20 picked by the Asian canoe federation as a judge.
Ms Bilquis had stepped into this sport in 1998. She has participated in many national and international tournaments and has won 6 gold medals along with 16 other medals. However, her journey has been of overcoming serious obstacles. From practicing water sports in world famous Dal lake to rowing through the wild waters of Europe. Mir has overcome every challenge to bust the myth that the girls cannot play sports. Water sports at that time was not even recognised in India. Despite all this Mir continued with her passion and reached this far. Ms Mir is currently coaching students in Kashmir and her team has won 56 medals in the national tournaments.
Ms Bilquis Mir is true inspiration for all young talented children of the valley and the country who hope to make a career in sports. She proved her mettle to the world and paved way for all the sports enthusiasts to make it big in the field of sports.
