Farzana Mumtaz
After much pain, agony, gloom in the year 2016 on account of prevailing painful circumstances, finally the year end has come with some good news. Two Kashmiri kids have shinned at global level in sports field- Tajamul Islam in Kickboxing and Hashim Mansoor in Karate. Interestingly, both kids belong to North Kashmir District of Bandipora.
Seven -year-old Tajamul Islam from small village of Bandipora, Kashmir scripted history at the World Kickboxing Championship in Italy, where she made all proud by becoming the first player ever from the sub-junior category to clinch a gold medal. Pertinently, the World Kick Boxing Championship witnessed participation of more than ninety countries.
Pertinently, Tajamul’s natural aptitude for kickboxing was first spotted by the Army Goodwill School in Tarkpora. But there was no proper infrastructure in place to train for the sport. Tajamul’s coach Faisal Dar trained her in an open field with makeshift apparatus. Despite these all difficulties , Tajamul persevered and practiced at least 25 hours a week.
Her first major win was at the state-level championship in Jammu in 2015 where she won a gold medal in the sub-junior category.
In another big feat, just six -year-old Hashim Mansoor from Bandipora, Jammu & Kashmir, followed the footsteps of Tajamul Islam, clinched Gold in the Asian Youth Karate Championship in New Delhi.
Hashim Mansoor represented India in the Sub-Junior category in the championship held at Talkatora stadium in the national capital. Pertinently, 19 countries participated in the championship.
People of valley especially Bandiporians are much elated with the success of these two kids at international stage of sports . Nasir Khuehami, a young writer from Bandipora, reflecting on the subject stated -“Kashmiris have a great talent and are seen performing well in every sphere despite tough circumstances. It is a great moment for Bandipora District to produce two international champion kids. These victories prove that Kashmiri kids possess great talent and have the ability to shine at global level. We need to develop a supportive sports policy so that our kids shine big at global level and continue performing well even in adult tournaments. For the moment, the achievements of these two kids is worth appreciation and we are really of what they have achieved .”
With Six and seven year old kids from kashmir making it big in the sports world one hopes that a concrete sports policy is soon framed so that our kids continue to shine and adults also make us proud .
