Srinagar, Aug 6: From Dal Lake to the Olympics, Bilquis Mir has charted an extraordinary journey.
The Kashmiri kayaking pioneer, who served as a jury member at the Paris Olympics, met Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and MoS Sports Raksha Nikhil Khadse to discuss the future of water sports in India.
Mir, 38, shared insights into the growth of kayaking and canoeing, and was asked by the minister to prepare a roadmap and groom teams in these Olympic disciplines, which together offer 16 medal events.
The meeting comes ahead of the first-ever Khelo India Water Sports Festival at Dal Lake, scheduled from August 21 to 23.
Mir, who has trained over 3,000 athletes, including 300+ girls, has turned the Nehru Park Water Sports Centre in Srinagar into a hub of excellence. Her trainees have bagged over 120 national medals.
Mir’s career began by accident in the late ’90s, eventually taking her to the ICF Sprint World Cup in Hungary and later coaching India’s women’s team at the 2012 London Olympics.
Despite her achievements, she faced a legal battle after the Anti-Corruption Bureau filed an FIR against her in 2023. The J&K High Court recently quashed the case, calling it a “witch-hunt” and slammed authorities for harassing a national sportsperson.
Undeterred, Mir says her fight was for future athletes: “I stayed strong so the next generation of women in sports doesn’t lose hope.” (KINS)
