Kashmiri Women’s Water Sports Journey

• A rare all-woman boat race was held on the Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar, driven by 150 women, mostly from families living near the lake.
• The race was a success, with Shagufta Shafi, a resident of Nehru Park, winning four golds, a silver, and two bronze medals at national-level competitions.
• The race was deferred to 2 p.m. due to cold weather and mist, but Shafi’s team won ₹10,000.
• Shafi sees the sport as a ladder to a job opportunity, but her medals have not provided her with a decent job so far.
• Most women living in and around the lake take to water early, with over 25 women athletes preparing for national and international events.
• The sport requires flexibility and muscle power, and takes over two years to get into due to the need for swimming, strength and balance exercises, and technique learning.
• Coach Bilquis Mir, known as Kashmir’s ‘Aqua Queen’, has been instrumental in training over 3,000 water sports athletes and has won 28 medals for J&K.
• Mir has become an icon for water sports enthusiasts in Kashmir, with her day starting early with loud directions to players to begin their warm-up followed by practice.
• Mir has also been invited by the Asian Canoe Confederation as a Chief Finish Line Judge in the Asian Canoe Sprint Olympic Qualifier in Japan this year and selected as a judge and first-ever technical officer from India for the Paralympic Games in Paris.