Indian army, in a special initiative, trained six specially-abled youths from Kashmir in skiing at High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) in Gulmarg. The youths underwent two weeks of training.
The Chinar Corps initiative is aimed at providing first-hand exposure to specially-abled youths of Kashmir in skiing, with the hope that many more citizens would take up this exhilarating sport.
The event was flagged off by GOC 31 Sub Area under the aegis of HQ 15 Corps and were ably guided and supervised by the Commandant of HAWS.
“We hope that many more specially-abled youth will take up skiing and represent India in Paralympics in times to come.” said Sanjay Vishwas, GOC,31 Sub Area.
Several volunteers had approached Indian Army for the short course. Artificial limbs and other special accessories were provided by Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, an NGO from Jaipur. The team successfully completed 14 days basic skiing course from March 12 to March 26
The team was led by Lt Col Dharamdatt Goel, who himself is a war-wounded soldier and an amputee. The other six Kashmiri members included Mr Gowhair Ahmad Ganaie, Mr Umar Salam, Mr Abdul Rehman Mir, Mr Rafiq, Mr Musaib Rashid and Mr Syeed Nazir.
During the course they learnt basic skills of sliding, gliding, snow ploughing, manoeuvring, and traversing. The participants demonstrated their courage and will of human spirit.
After learning the basic skills, they successfully covered a distance of 250 metres. This appeared impossible on the very first day of the training.
“We are thankful to HAWS and India army who gave us chance to prove ourselves, it has given us new identity and we can be inspiration for many people like us who feel they won’t be able to do such things”, said Gowhar Ganai, Participant.
Skiing for the specially-abled is yet to be explored in India. The six skiers through their courage and motivation have conveyed a strong message to the youth of Kashmir that despite the challenging situation in life, determination and hard work always pays off. Chinar Corps said that they hoped many more specially-abled youths took up skiing and represented India in Paralympics.
Indian army, in a special initiative, trained six specially-abled youths from Kashmir in skiing at High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) in Gulmarg. The youths underwent two weeks of training. The Chinar Corps initiative is aimed at providing first-hand exposure to specially-abled youths of Kashmir in skiing, with the hope that many more citizens would take up this exhilarating sport. The event was flagged off by GOC 31 Sub Area under the aegis of HQ 15 Corps and were ably guided and supervised by the Commandant of HAWS. “We hope that many more specially-abled youth will take up skiing and represent India in Paralympics in times to come.” said Sanjay Vishwas, GOC,31 Sub Area. Several volunteers had approached Indian Army for the short course. Artificial limbs and other special accessories were provided by Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, an NGO from Jaipur. The team successfully completed 14 days basic skiing course from March 12 to March 26 The team was led by Lt Col Dharamdatt Goel, who himself is a war-wounded soldier and an amputee. The other six Kashmiri members included Mr Gowhair Ahmad Ganaie, Mr Umar Salam, Mr Abdul Rehman Mir, Mr Rafiq, Mr Musaib Rashid and Mr Syeed Nazir. During the course they learnt basic skills of sliding, gliding, snow ploughing, manoeuvring, and traversing. The participants demonstrated their courage and will of human spirit. After learning the basic skills, they successfully covered a distance of 250 metres. This appeared impossible on the very first day of the training. “We are thankful to HAWS and India army who gave us chance to prove ourselves, it has given us new identity and we can be inspiration for many people like us who feel they won’t be able to do such things”, said Gowhar Ganai, Participant. Skiing for the specially-abled is yet to be explored in India. The six skiers through their courage and motivation have conveyed a strong message to the youth of Kashmir that despite the challenging situation in life, determination and hard work always pays off. Chinar Corps said that they hoped many more specially-abled youths took up skiing and represented India in Paralympics.