Winter sports in India is no longer dominated by men. The Jammu and Kashmir government this year specially held winter sports events for women participants. These female athletes had come from over 11 states of the country and were competing in various winter sports activities.
Earlier, there were hardly any female skiers, snowboarders, or snowshoe racers but this year all those barriers were broken. Hundreds of women arrived in Kashmir’s scenic ski resort Gulmarg this year to be a part of winter sports.
Bhiwani has been coming to Gulmarg for over four years. She is among top skiers in the country. She says when she started there was hardly any women participation in winter sports but now the numbers have gone up tremendously.
“Obviously, things have changed. I have been coming here for many years and when we started, we hardly used to see any girls. There used to be more men compared to women, but over the years we can see more women participating. There are a lot of competitions coming up for females. The participants are from across the country. Things have been changing and it’s good to see that we are getting support. Earlier we couldn’t see women standing up and participating,” Bhavani Rachana, who is an athlete.
“I believe we need more support from the government, the government has taken many initiatives to support women, especially for winter sports and given the condition I am sure we will have many women participating in the coming winter Olympics. The only motive is to show youngsters my journey. If someone tomorrow says that I want to be like Bhavani, that would be the biggest achievement for me,” Rachana added.
Girls like Bhavani are becoming an inspiration for many young female athletes. A local female athlete from Kashmir won the snowshoe race held in Gulmarg recently. She plans to represent India at the Olympics.
“I am extremely happy that I got first prize for Jammu and Kashmir. I was competing with athletes across the country. It’s a great opportunity and girls should use these opportunities. There are special sports events for girls and it’s a great thing. I want to represent India in the Olympics and will be preparing for that,” said Sara, who is a Kashmiri athlete.
The government of Jammu and Kashmir plans to have more and more female participation in various winter adventure sports. The government is organising special sports events for women so that young female athletes can pick up sports as their careers.
“Women are the backbone of the nation, we had a major emphasis on women participation. All the women who are here, we are providing them the best support and we are sure in future we will have more and more women joining us for the winter adventure sports. We recently had a young athlete who won a wushu championship for the country. The women should fight the odds and win and be the face for the women of Kashmir,” said Zeeshan Khan, who is an Assistant Director of Tourism.
The female athletes now hope that the government will support them and make teams for every sport to provide a platform for these girls to represent India at international sports events.
Winter sports in India is no longer dominated by men. The Jammu and Kashmir government this year specially held winter sports events for women participants. These female athletes had come from over 11 states of the country and were competing in various winter sports activities. Earlier, there were hardly any female skiers, snowboarders, or snowshoe racers but this year all those barriers were broken. Hundreds of women arrived in Kashmir’s scenic ski resort Gulmarg this year to be a part of winter sports. Bhiwani has been coming to Gulmarg for over four years. She is among top skiers in the country. She says when she started there was hardly any women participation in winter sports but now the numbers have gone up tremendously. “Obviously, things have changed. I have been coming here for many years and when we started, we hardly used to see any girls. There used to be more men compared to women, but over the years we can see more women participating. There are a lot of competitions coming up for females. The participants are from across the country. Things have been changing and it’s good to see that we are getting support. Earlier we couldn’t see women standing up and participating,” Bhavani Rachana, who is an athlete. “I believe we need more support from the government, the government has taken many initiatives to support women, especially for winter sports and given the condition I am sure we will have many women participating in the coming winter Olympics. The only motive is to show youngsters my journey. If someone tomorrow says that I want to be like Bhavani, that would be the biggest achievement for me,” Rachana added. Girls like Bhavani are becoming an inspiration for many young female athletes. A local female athlete from Kashmir won the snowshoe race held in Gulmarg recently. She plans to represent India at the Olympics. “I am extremely happy that I got first prize for Jammu and Kashmir. I was competing with athletes across the country. It’s a great opportunity and girls should use these opportunities. There are special sports events for girls and it’s a great thing. I want to represent India in the Olympics and will be preparing for that,” said Sara, who is a Kashmiri athlete. The government of Jammu and Kashmir plans to have more and more female participation in various winter adventure sports. The government is organising special sports events for women so that young female athletes can pick up sports as their careers. “Women are the backbone of the nation, we had a major emphasis on women participation. All the women who are here, we are providing them the best support and we are sure in future we will have more and more women joining us for the winter adventure sports. We recently had a young athlete who won a wushu championship for the country. The women should fight the odds and win and be the face for the women of Kashmir,” said Zeeshan Khan, who is an Assistant Director of Tourism. The female athletes now hope that the government will support them and make teams for every sport to provide a platform for these girls to represent India at international sports events.