Sports Council to hold series of camps, competitions in Kashmir

Srinagar, May 27: Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council intends to open a professional gymnastics academy centre at Gindun Rajbagh Srinagar, following the pattern of the gymnastics academy centre in Jammu, to promote gymnastics as a major sport in the Kashmir region.

At first, talent scouting and camps will be organised to impart gymnastics coaching in the Kashmir division followed by in-house competitions. Parents and kids are responding reasonably well to the coaching camp that is being organized currently. Over the next few months, more such camps will be conducted in both North and South Kashmir.

According to Secretary JKSC Nuzhat Gul, the centre will feature world-class facilities for the athletes. “The aim is to attract the attention of aspiring athletes from the Kashmir region who want to pursue gymnastics professionally and take advantage of the Sports Policy benefits, which include financial awards, admissions in professional colleges under sports quotas, job prospects under SO12, and much more” she added.

In an endeavour of this kind, JKSC, with the assistance of Manish Gupta, a well-known gymnastics coach, has organised a summer coaching camp at SKISC Srinagar.

Over the years, notable accomplishments in gymnastics have been made possible by the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council. Thanks to the Government of J&K for providing state-of-the-art gymnastics facilities established at M A Stadium.

Gymnasts' medal tallies have increased yearly at both the national and international levels.

In 2018, the J&K Sports Council launched the Gymnastics Academy in Jammu. Based on J&K gymnasts' achievements in the Khelo India Games and other national championships, this training center was chosen as a recognized Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy by the Sports Authority of India (the only Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy in India).

Later in 2020, this academy was outfitted with world class gymnastics apparatuses and equipment, enabling J&K gymnasts to perform better in both national and international competitions and win various awards for J&K.

With the help of these state-of-the-art facilities, J&K gymnasts have represented the country in major international competitions such as the Asian Championships, World Cups, and Commonwealth Games.

Muskan Rana and Bavleen Kaur, both Academy trainees, have won gold for J&K and the Best Gymnasts of India titles in the Khelo India Games 2021 and 2022. The Junior National Team Championship was won by Muskan Rana, Manya, Vabhavi Sharma, and Jagriti Thakur. In both national and international competitions, such as the World and Asian Championships, J&K gymnasts have improved, won numerous medals, and displayed outstanding performance.

Since 2021, J&K has yielded incredibly successful results in gymnastics. Over the last three years, 13 gymnasts have competed for their country in international competitions and have won almost 80 medals, including 25 Gold, 34 silver, and 21 bronze at national games and other major championships. These successes demonstrate the commitment of the athletes and their coaches supported by JKSC.