Srinagar, Dec 20: From para archer Sheetal Devi to gymnast Ruddrakash Khanna, J&K sportspersons have made India proud in 2024.
In fact, 2024 has been an eventful year for J&K sports, thanks to Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council.
Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar won a bronze medal in the 17th edition of Summer Paralympics 2024 held in Paris from 29th August to 08th September 2024. Wherein, 01 Gold and 02 Bronze medals were secured by the J&K Pencak Silat contingent in the 8th Senior Asian Pencak Silat Championship
Rakesh Singh won the bronze Medal Gold at the 10th Asia Pacific Deaf Games held in Malaysia from 1st to 8th December 2024.
Ruddrakash Khanna, J&K Gymnast achieved 5thplace in the Asian Aerobic Gymnastics Championship held in Hanoi, Vietnam from 8thto 10th June 2024, this is the first time that an Aerobics Gymnast from India as well as J&K got 5thranked
Three athletes from J&K participated in BRICS GAMES 2024 held in Kazan, Russia from 17th to 23rd June 2024. Surya BhanuPartap Singh – Wushu and Ajay Kumar – Fencing, and won silver and one bronze medal respectively.
Youth participation in sports activities has grown significantly throughout J&K over the past two years.
Under My Youth My Pride’,Har Din Khel Har Ek ke Liye Khel’, NashaMukt Bharat Abhiyan’,AzadikaAmritMahaotsuv’, Jan Abhiyan’,Calendar of Sports Associations’. and `Regular Coaching Programmes’, 23.60 lakh youth engaged in various sports events held at the Panchayat, Block, District, UT, and national levels till November.
The Khelo India State Centre of Excellence in Fencing and Rowing Discipline is located in UT’s capital cities and promotes excellence in sports through the use of employees hired through the scheme.
Athletes are making use of the 91functional against 100 Small Khelo India Centres that have been established at the District level throughout UT.
In the current financial year, six National level competitions in five sports disciplines Cricket (Legends League Cricket), Tennis-ball Cricket, Badminton, Pencak Silat, and Tennikoit organized in J&K till November 2024: –
The 4thEdition Khelo India Winter Games was held at Gulmarg, Kashmir from 21st to 25th February 2024 in which 800 athletes from 20 States / UUTshave participated in which J&K secured 01Gold, 06Silver &04Bronze medals.
Due to the availability of indoor and outdoor facilities, J&K athletes have performed admirably at national and international competitions in 2024-25. The athletes J&K Athlete won 204 Gold, 106 Silver, and 161 Bronze Medals at the National level & two Gold, two Silver, and 10 Bronze medals at the International Level in the financial year till November 2024.
Due to the installation of high mass lights, evening sporting activities received a lot of encouragement, sparking intense enthusiasm among young people and attracting spectator attention. The TulibalSoporeKhushal Stadium is a beautiful example, where the community football event with high mast lights drew more than 20,000 young people for the Industrial Football Cup final. In Srinagar’s downtown, where people play a variety of games until midnight beneath high mast lights, community activities have had the most success.
Over 15000 sports persons represented J&K in National / Zonal level Competitions in the discipline of Athletics, Archery, Badminton, Basketball, Ball Badminton, Boxing, Body Building, Chess, Cycling, Football, Fencing, Gymnastics, Hockey, Handball, Judo, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Kayaking & Canoeing, Sport Climbing, Netball, Roller Skating, Squash, Softball, Table Tennis, Tenni-koit, Tennis-ball Cricket, Thang-Ta, Volleyball, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Wushu, Yogasana, Deaf Sports, Rugby, Rifle, Roll Ball, Soft Tennis, Pencak Silat, Rowing, Para Sports, during 2024-25 (Till November).
In the current financial year, 19 sportsmen have competed for the country in International competitions in the disciplines of Fencing, Gymnastics, Bodybuilding, Para Archery, Deaf Judo, Pencak Sila,t and Football.
Under the PMDP Scheme, 12 Junior coaches, and 43 Instructors have been engaged on a contractual basis to enroll in the centers to make judicial use of infrastructure. With this recruitment, 25000 athletes across UT will be beneficiaries daily and will sustain a source of income for the trainers.
Due to the creation of a significant hub of sporting facilities in the UT of J&K, the attendance of trainees at both outdoor and indoor fields and stadiums has increased significantly.
In the UT of J&K, multisport synthetic turfs have been installed in the sports of volleyball, football, athletics, and hockey, with the potential to elevate J&K youth to the Asian / Olympic podium.
For in-service athletes, LG’s Rolling Trophy in multisport disciplines has been institutionalized to give tension tension-free atmosphere to the in-service athletes.
By installing equipment across 20 districts, five volleyball centers per district, and 100 volleyball courts were made operational.
Centers for Water Sports, Fencing, and Wushu have been created in BasohliKathua, Jammu, and Srinagar.
To promote sports, yoga parks for athletes and senior persons with health programs have been created.
There are 02 new tennis courts at M.A. Stadium in Jammu for the budding youth to get acquainted with basic sports facilities.
To give the youth in rural, border, and community areas access to the most basic amenities and help them focus their energies in productive ways, 3696 Panchayat-level fields have been built.