As the first international woman kayaker in canoeing from Jammu and Kashmir and an international judge, 34-year-old Bilquis Mir is one of the pioneers of water sports in the state as well as in the country. Mir, who represented India at the 2009 ICF Sprint World Cup in Hungary, coached the Indian canoe teams from 2010 to 2015, and served as a judge at the 2018 Asian Games, in addition to being Director, Water Sports, Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmir Water Sports Council.
Mir, who is the President of Canoe Slalom, Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association, was in Chandigarh The association announced Chandigarh as the host of next year’s Asian Dragon Boat Championships and Himachal Pradesh to host the Canoe Sprint Nationals next month. Bilaspur.
The former international player believes that kayaking and canoeing will attract more interest among the Indian youth in the coming years.
“When we talk of Olympic sports, canoeing remains the fifth largest sport in terms of medals with 12 events in canoe sprint, four events in canoe slalom at the Tokyo Olympics, and nine events at the Tokyo Paralympics. Like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan Asian countries are also emerging as strong nation, I believe India can also develop in this game in future years.
Recently we saw Prachi Yadav become the first Para canoe player from India to compete in Tokyo Paralympics and reach the semi-finals. We have seen the recent pressure by the Central Government in declaring a Center of Excellence in Water Sports in Srinagar. Such initiatives will attract more youth to the sport and with the right planning and infrastructure, we too can dream of qualifying for the Olympics and winning medals,” said Mir. Indian Express.
Mir, who started swimming at the Nehru Park Water Sports Center in Srinagar in the late 1990s, will begin kayaking at the center a year later. In the coming years Mir will compete in the K1 500m events at national and international level and will reach the semi-finals at the ICF Sprint Racing World Cup in Hungary. The Jammu and Kashmir player also participated in the Asian Kayaking Championship in Iran and later coached the Indian Kayaking and Canoeing teams from 2010 to 2015. In 2010, Mir also passed the International Judge Test by the ICF and would officiate in international tournaments.
“When I started playing, a lot of people used to laugh or taunt me or my family. Swimming or water sports was still a taboo and I still remember how people taunted me for wearing swim attire to kayak events. I am glad that I can be a role model for the youth as well as budding sportspersons from J&K as well as other states. Participating in the ICF World Cup in Hungary is my biggest achievement, but coaching the Indian team from 2010 to 2015 helped me grow as a person. At the water sports center in Dal Lake, we have trained over 100 players who have won national medals and seeing them achieve success inspires me,” she said.
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