SPORTS YEARENDER 2020
RAJESH DHAR
The year 2020 was badly affected by the deadly Coronavirus pandemic. Almost all the day to day activities were put to halt with the emergence of this natural calamity, so the sporting activities were not an exception. However, despite the threat of Covid-19 pandemic, which severely hampered the sports activities, the sons of the soil in legendary Kuldeep Handoo, iconic Abdul Samad, dynamic Ranjit Singh and likes kept the J&K flag high at the national and International scene. Their excellence at the higher and the highest level powered the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to carve a space on the country’s sports map. Though many competitions were not held at the national level because of the pandemic, but heroic performances by Union Territory’s local stars either online or off line made all of us feel proud.
Young Samad makes IPL cut
Abdul Samad, the 19-year-old with a reputation for big hitting, earned his IPL debut with Sunrisers Hyderabad and began the season in an impressive manner this year.
A big-hitting batsman who can also bowl quickish legspin, Samad was one of the breakout stars of the 2019-20 Indian domestic season. Nobody struck more sixes than his 36 for Jammu & Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy, and in all he hit 592 runs in 17 innings at an eye-popping strike rate of nearly 113. His one-session centuries against Assam in Jammu and against formidable Jharkhand in Jharkhand were delight to watch. Samad his 11 sixes in that power-packed innings against Jharkhand.
Mentored by Irfan Pathan, the J&K player-cum-mentor, and endorsed by Milap Mewada, the coach, Samad became the fourth player from J&K to break into the IPL after Parvez Rasool, Mansoor Dar and Rasikh Salam, when Sunrisers snapped him up for his base price of INR 20 lakh in December 2019.
Pathan and Mewada first spotted Samad as a 16-year-old in 2018, at a trial in Jammu. His driving on the up against quicks bowling from 18 yards out had Pathan digging up Samad’s scores in districts. “He was effortlessly hitting the ball,” Pathan told ESPNcricinfo during the most recent domestic season. “But when I looked through his numbers, he didn’t have one 50-plus score. I took him aside and told him he would be put in the probables, but he needed to work on preserving his wicket. It’s not about six-hitting.
Randhir Singh Manhas (Rajan Sir) is the first coach of young Samad, while his father Mohd Farooq, an employee of the Department of Youth Services and Sports is leaving no stone unturned in helping his son to blossom at the higher levels.
Handoo receives Dronacharya Award, becomes Fit India Ambassador
J&K’s Kuldeep Handoo, a Wushu coach for Team India, was conferred with the prestigious Dronacharya Award this year.
He is the first person from the Union Territory to receive this prestigious award.
He will receive the award from President Ram Nath Kovind on August 29, 2020 at Delhi.
A modern-day Eklavya himself, before getting tutored by taekwondo coach Vishal Sharma, he practised on an uneven ground near the boxing rink at the MA stadium with a handful of players, who liked the game.
“Undoubtedly, it is a moment of pride for me, my family, my fraternity and for the whole of Jammu and Kashmir. Years of struggle and hard work has eventually paid off. I am the first coach from Jammu and Kashmir, who has been conferred this prestigious honour,” Handoo said.
“Inspr Kuldeep Handoo awarded with #Dronacharya Award as National Chief coach for Wushu @HMOIndia, @manojsinha_”, wrote IGP Jammu Mukesh Singh on his Twitter handle.
At present, Handoo, is working as an inspector in the Jammu and Kashmir Police. In 1995, he won the first gold in the sixth National Wushu Championship at Mizoram and never looked back.
Handoo said the then chief minister Dr Farooq Abdullah was impressed by his skills and had him appointed in the Jammu and Kashmir Police in the sports quota.
Handoo in his long drawn out career of over 25 years has won 11 gold medals in national championships and six international medals.
“This is not the end. I aim to bring home a gold medal in the upcoming 2022 Asian Games,” he says, adding that prior to Asian Games, the Indian squad will take part in the World Championships scheduled to be held in 2021 in the US and Australia.
“An inspiration and role model for youngsters, Handoo has come a long way and greatly deserved this award”, say experts.
Under Handoo, India won two gold medals in world championships and one in the world cup, 28 silver medals and 57 bronze medals in different championships.He has already been honoured with prestigious Sher-i-Kashmir Award State Award and Parshuram Award. For his outstanding career and landmark achievements, Mr Handoo, the son of the soil has been named J&K’s brand Ambassador for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Fit India Movement.
Ranjit Singh becomes J&K Handball President, National Selector
Former skipper of Indian Handball team and J&K’s ace Handball player SSP Ranjit Singh Chib has been appointed selector of National Handball team by Handball Federation of India.
It is not for the first time that Ranjit has been appointed as the national selector as this 6 feet 2 inch tall energetic top brass police cop had started the national selectors’ campaign from 2014.
In recognition to his outstanding show in the discipline of Handball, Mr Ranjit has also been elected as the President of J&K Handball Association in its Annual General Meeting held in the month of October this year. Ranjit has the distinction of helping Team India to excel at the International scene and guide J&K to many title wins at the national scene. He was known for his dynamism and energy throughout his career as player.
Kayaking & Canoeing queen Bilquis leads by example
Jammu and Kashmir’s Kayaking and Canoeing queen Bilquis Mir is leading by example and is burning mid night oil in promoting water sports not only in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir but the entire country as well.
The establishment of water sports centre at Dal Lake in Srinagar, which was inaugurated by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in October this year is the best example of her endeavours in this regard.
“The establishment of Water Sports Centre in Srinagar is simply a dream come true for me. I have started training at this venue when we were having just one boat at hand. Now we have a sufficient international standard equipment to hone skills of youngsters. I am highly thankful to J&K Govt for establishing the Centre, which has now become world-class facility for holding the bigger events. The Indian Water Sports Federation is planning to hold National level camp at this venue very soon,” said Bilquis while expressing satisfaction.
The National water sports coach was also named judge in the qualifying rounds of kayaking and canoeing Asian qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which were postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic.
It is not the first instance where the 33-year-old Bilquis has made India proud.
Earlier in the 2018 Asian Games, she was the only Indian among the 20 picked up by the Asian Canoe Federation as a judge.
The qualifiers were to be held in Thailand’s Pattaya in March.
Bilquis said, “I was selected as a judge by the Asian Confederation office in Japan for a major tournament which was going to take place in Pattaya, but unfortunately could not take place due to natural calamity. I would have been the first Indian woman to judge such a tournament.”
“It’s a happy moment not just for me but for my entire UT and my country that I’ve got such a big platform, Olympic is a dream for every player and I’m one step away from it”, she added.
“My dream is to put Indian water sports players on the world map. I’m proud that I’ve got one more chance to not just represent Jammu & Kashmir but the whole country,” Bilquis stated.
“Bilquis wouldn’t have been there if this beautiful lake did not exist (referring to Dal lake). I stepped into this sport in 1998 and it didn’t garner much attention at that time, but now the Government is giving it full attention and the Prime Minister has given this sports Rs 7 crore package,” she added.
She has participated in many national and international tournaments and has won 6 gold medals along with 16 other medals.
Bilquis’ dream is to find out talent in not just J&K but in other parts of the country where water sports are played and to train them to reach the international level.
Bilquis also trains hundreds of boys and girls in the world-famous Dal Lake. “Our players are extremely talented and in my last 4-5 years of training them, the Jammu & Kashmir team has won 82 medals at the national level and it’s not too far when we will provide players of Asian and Olympics level.
Rachna, Nirmal among 18 Parshuram awardees
Ace fencing coach Rachna Jamwal, gutsy athletics coach Nirmal Singh are among 18 Parshuram awardees, who were conferred with this prestigious award in recognition to their outstanding conttribution in respective sports disciplines. The Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council this year has cleared the backlog of these awardees pending from the year 2012-13. The other Parshuram awardees include SP Singh (Gymnastics), Shotu Lal (Fencing), Mohd Iqbal (Thang-ta), Krupali Singh (Gymnastics), Kuldeep Handoo (Wushu), Sajid Yousuf Dar (Football), Bilquis Mir (Kayaking & Canoeing), Suraj Bhan Singh (Judo) Anil Kumar Gupta (Yoga), Ambedkar Gupta (Karate), Anil Kumar (Boxing), Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar (Bodybuilding), Manisha Gupta (Gymnastics), Inder Pal Singh (Weight-lifting), Dalbir Kumar (Hockey) and Anil Kumar (Kho-Kho)
Sports Council clears backlog; Hiteshwar, Meenal, Batra get Sher-e-Kashmir Award
Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council cleared the backlog of 48 awardees named for the prestigious Sher-e-Kashmir award, which was pending from the year 2012-13. Indian Rollball player Hiteshwar Singh, Chess star Meenal Gupta, ace Netball player Akash Batra were among these sporting icons who were honoured for their outstanding display in various sports disciplines. The other sportspersons who received this award included Hardeep Singh (Powerlifting), Aijaz Ahmed Bhat (Thang-ta) Manjeet Singh (Korfball), Jatin Saberwal (Roller Skating), Sanjeev Suri (Fencing), Inderdeep Singh (Gymnastics), Ashish Sharma 
(Handball), Vishal Singh Chib (Softball), Shabir Ahmed Khan (Skiing), Rubia Jan (Netball), Zakariya Yaseen Bhat (Thang-ta), Syed Haniya Zehra (Skiing), Nitin Kumar Sharma (Handball), Surya Bhanu Partap Singh (Wushu), Khalida Banu (Wushu), Jugraaj Singh (Roller Skating), Parul Mehra (Gymnastics), Ravia Verma (Gymnastics), Shikha Bhau (Judo), Ram Singh Salathia (Mountaineering), Zahoor Ahmad Latoo (Kayaking & Canoeing), Rakesh Kumar (Powerlifting), Vishal Thapar (Fencing), Psering Ladol (Mountaineering), Honey Mehra (Gymnastics), Surmeet Singh Soni (Powerlifting), Irfan Choudhary (Korfball), Tarun Gandhotra (Roller Skating), Seema Kharyal (Roller Skating), Dhananjay Singh Charak (Bodybuilding), Mohd Tariq (Fencing), Vansh Mahajan (Fencing), Shweta Thakur (Judo), Danish Sharma (Judo), Sahil Singh (Karate), Parvez Rasool (Cricket), Tamajud Saif ()Thang-ta), Wasik-ul-Billah (Skiing), Shikha Bhadauria (Shooting), Shreya Gupta (Fencing), Rajinder Singh (Wushu), Ranchan Sabarwal (Fencing), Sahil Gupta (Roller Skating), Karanjot Singh Gymnastics) and Sabiya Nabi (Skiing)
Everesters Falail, Nazir deserve appreciation
Two Police personnel of Jammu and Kashmir Police SgCt Nazir Ahmed and SgCt Falil Singh who were part of the 11-member All India Police Sports Control Board Team scaled world’s highest peak Mount Everest in 2019.
Though, the then Governor J&K, Satya Pal Malik and the Director General of Police (DGP) J&K Dilbag Singh have congratulated the police personnel for successfully scaling the Mount Everest, yet the duo deserves appreciation and felicitation from the LG Manoj Sinha and the top brass Govt officials for their outstanding contribution in mountaineering field.
SgCt Nazir Ahmed hails from district Kupwara, while SgCt Falil Singh is a resident of Rajouri. Both of them have been trained in basic mountaineering from The Jawaharlal Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports, Pahalgam in 2004.
Arun Malhotra bestows online football training
Jammu’s ace footballer Arun Malhotra, who is known for his free service, conducted a series of online webinar courses for football, providing good number of aspirants opportunity to learn basics and advance soccer skills.Arun also did C-License Coaching Course organised by All India Football Federation (AIFF) under the banner of Asian Football Confederation.He also gave online training to youth in this year.It is pertinent to mention here that Arun an International footballer from Jammu and Kashmir who has the distinction of representing most of the top soccer clubs in the country.
DYSS holds galaxy of Snow Skiing
Courses, Trekking Expeditions
Defeating Coronavirus pandemic through the medium of sports while adhering all the Government SOPs , the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS), under the patronage of its Director General, Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman, organised a series of Snow Skiing Courses at world famous and picturesque Gulmarg and a galaxy of Trekking Expeditions throughout the Union Territory. Thousands of young and experienced skiers and trekkers took part in these courses and expeditions in order to hone their skiing and trekking skills. The participants were drawn from almost all the districts of the Union Territory.Such a huge number of trekking expeditions have been organised for the first time in the history of the Department. The development of sports infrastructure throughout the Union Territory was in full swing in 2020. Khel Gaon Nagrota, Poonch Stadium and Mini Stadium Parade are a few examples of sports infrastructural development.
Atul Pangotra sparkles at I’ntl level
Atul Pangotra, 2-time Commonwealth Medallist and an International Referee from J&K participated in the prestigious online Para-Taekwondo workshop held by World Taekwondo Europe under the banner of World Taekwondo. Attended by over 100 Referees and Officials, the workshop was held from June 6 to June 12, 2020. It was the first such workshop ever held in the history of Taekwondo.Sharing his experience, Pangotra said it was the first time that such a workshop was held for players.
He further informed that he has qualified as Top 50 International Referees for Paralympics, the first from the UT. Congratulating the World Taekwondo for being only sports governing body to remember para athletes during these tough times, he said that India has many talented para Taekwondo athletes, including one of his students Chandeep Singh from Jammu. “Chandeep has bagged medals for the country in World Para Taekwondo Championship and Asian Para Taekwondo Championship. Recently, he was nominated for a prestigious National award for his achievements,” he added.J&K Taekwondo Association has congratulated Atul Pangotra for participating in the prestigious online workshop and wished him good luck for future endeavours.
Rijiju lays foundation stones for various sports facilities in Leh
Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has laid foundation stones for various sports facilities at the cost of over 12 crore rupees in Leh.
The Minister laid foundation for a Synthetic Track & Astroturf for football in Leh at an open stadium.
Mr Rijiju suggested Ladakh UT Administration to constitute Awards and Incentives like jobs for local sportspersons to encourage them to excel in the sporting field. He also asked the Ice Hockey associations across the country to come together to get recognition for the sport, by following the laid down procedures.
Ladakhi girl Farhana Eliyas wins bronze
Representing UT Ladakh for the first time, Farhana Eliyas of Leh won a bronze medal in the 69Kg weight category boxing competition in the 3rd Khelo India youth games 2020 on January 23 at Guwahati, Assam.
Gyal P Wangyal, CEC, Hill Council, Leh; Tsering Sandup, Deputy Chairman and Executive Councillors of Hill Council, Leh congratulated Farhana for bringing laurels to the UT Ladakh. Wangyal said that Farhana’s achievements in her maiden attempt will inspire the budding sportspersons in UT Ladakh and it will make the nation aware about the potential of UT Ladakh in sports.
Medal winning stars remain wanting
The sportspersons of prominent medal winning sports disciplines like Gymnastics, Roller Skating, Fencing, Chess and Judo could not find any opportunity to display their skill and talent due to pandemic, so no question of bringing laurels to the Union Territory and the Country as well.
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