The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been prioritising the promotion of sports among the youth with the aim of making the latter more self-confident, better organised and eventually ensuring that they become competent professionals. Sports is an integral part of our lives and plays a significant role in our socio-economic development.
In the past couple of years, the UT administration has taken a lead role in channelising the energy and potential of the region's youth to achieve meaningful and productive results. In aspiring for this objective, award-winning sportspersons like Younis Reshi from South Kashmir's Verinag area are contributing in a big way.
In his late twenties, Reshi hails from Chontipora, a hamlet located close to Verinag's famous Mughal Gardens.
Brighter Kashmir spoke to Reshi on the sidelines of a practice session in a park with two young aspiring boys.
"I am a self-taught sportsperson/athlete. I am on an ambitious mission to encourage young Kashmiri boys and girls to take up sports and work towards achieving regional as well as national recognition. The children I am teaching now have been with me for the last two years. I don't charge them any fees," said Reshi.
He further informed that his area of specialisation was athletics, running in particular.
"I have played at the national and state level. I have been watching several videos on social media of late and felt that I was equally capable of using this platform to share my skills and talent with younger Kashmiris. We do have a few parks in Kashmir to train youngsters, including one in Srinagar, but we need more such facilities," Younis told BK.
"What I need now is proper equipment so that I can take the training of these young kids to the next level. I appeal to the government to provide me with these equipment," he added.
Brighter Kashmir also spoke to one of the boys undergoing training with Younis and he endorsed the views of his coach about the need for the government to come forward with more sports-related incentives for the youth of the region.
For those who do not know, Reshi has achieved recognition at the national and regional level in the sport of Parkour, an athletic training discipline in which practitioners attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible without the use of assisted equipment and often while performing artistic-gymnastic exercises. Besides this, he has also acquired skills in free running.
Younis believes sports and other forms of physical activity are the best weapons to combat social evils like drug abuse and is looking to the government to extend support for his sporting pursuits.
The J&K government introduced a new sports policy on February 3, 2022, through which it intends to create a desirable sporting eco-system to enable youth of the region to scale new heights. There is no doubt Kashmir has abundant talent among its youth, but what the need of the hour is to identify this talent in a timely manner and provide them with the necessary support system to fine tune their capabilities.