Achi news desk-
Bilquis Mir of Jammu and Kashmir is set to become the first woman from India to represent the country as a jury member at this year’s Summer Olympics, which is scheduled to be hosted in Paris from July 26 to August 11.
Geer’s appointment as a jury member for the Paris Games was formally conveyed through a letter from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to the Jammu and Kashmir government.
“Bilkis Mir, water sports promoter, developer, athlete, jury member of the Indian Canoeing and Canoeing Association has been nominated as a jury member to judge at the Paris Olympic Games. She is the first person from India to be appointed as a jury member at the Paris Olympics,” the IOA stated in a letter to the Jammu government. and Kashmir.
Overjoyed at her appointment as a jury member for the Summer Olympics, which is considered the pinnacle of sports, Bilkis said it was like a dream come true for her as the Olympics is the ‘ultimate destination’ not only for athletes but for sports promoters like her.
Sharing with ANI her thoughts on her appointment as a jury member for the Summer Games, Bilkis said she started out as a canoeist from the Dal Lake in 1998 and went on to represent the country in the state.
She said she is the former coach of the women’s canoeing team that will represent India at this year’s Paris Games, adding that she was also a jury member at last year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Recalling the days before the abrogation of constitutional privileges in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, she said it was very difficult for a Kashmiri girl to take up sports at the time, but she took up canoeing seriously, negotiating. and overcoming the many challenges that came along the way.
She said she found her true calling as a canoeist, which was an almost unheard of sport in Jammu and Kashmir at the time, and went on to represent the state in world championships.
“This is a proud moment not only for me or for the UT of Jammu and Kashmir but for the entire country. I consider it an honor to represent my country as a member of the prestigious jury at the Paris Olympics. I was also a jury at the Hangzhou Asian Games. It is not only A moment of victory for me but for all girls or women who aspire to excel in sports. Only two jury members from Asia have been selected this time (for the Summer Games), and the other is from Japan,” Bilkis told ANI.
She received the examination for being a jury member at top sporting events in 2008 and was praised for her conduct and performance on the panel at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.
Thanking her parents, family members and well-wishers, who have supported her all along, Bilkis said, “I started my career as a canoeist in 1998 from Dal Lake, when it was a challenge for a girl to even wear a tracksuit. I represented UT in national events for 12 years before that I appeared for my country in the World Championship. I was even a (women’s) national team coach for 10 years. I came to this exam in 2008, in Germany, where I was voted the second best referee.” (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by the Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
