BILQUIS MIR, THE SRINAGAR KAYAKER

Hailing from the town of Srinagar, a top up to the already discussed prowess of women in Kashmir, Bilquis Mir became the first ever woman from India to be included in the jury panel at Hangzhou’s sporting event.

She was raised in the Srinagar neighborhood of Khanyar and attended SA Modern School Babar Shah before earning her degree from the Women’s College on Maulana Azad Road. Her sporting career began in the Dal Lake waters and continued to the international arena, where she represented Jammu & Kashmir and the country as a whole. She proudly represented Jammu and Kashmir from 1998 to 2006, earning over 25 medals at various national level competitions.

Bilquis Mir is the first water sports coach in the area and a former kayaker and canoeist from Srinagar. History was made, when Bilquis Mir was chosen to be a member of the 19th Asian Games jury. The games took place in Hangzhou, China wef 23 September to 8 October 2023. She is the first Indian woman and the first resident of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir to accomplish this.

“It is a great honor for me to have been invited to judge at the famous international 19th Asian Games in China. I’m very proud to have been a part of this important event. forth the last twenty-one years, my family and I have overcome many obstacles and put forth a great deal of effort to get here. At last, my entire endeavor has been compensated.” said the proud coach.

In this capacity, Mir—who also serves as Jammu and Kashmir’s director of Water Sports— evaluated and supervised a large number of athletes who competed in the sport. She is recognized for being the first in a number of areas, including being the first woman from Jammu and Kashmir to be the national team’s coach. Her incredible journey included competing in the 2009 ICF Sprint Racing World Cup in Kayaking and Canoeing in Szeged, Hungary, as the first Indian woman ever.

Bilquis was also the National Coach at the CANOE ALAOM SENIOR National Coaching Camp in Bhopal from January 2007 to March 2015. In the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics, she was named the Women’s Kayak and Canoeing National Coach, or leader. She has now accomplished a new milestone by becoming the first female Indian member of an international referee panel.

“It took a lot of effort and perseverance for me to get to this point. I’m thrilled to be serving my nation and UT with pride”, A prominent news outlet featured a remark from her regarding her path in water sports.

“Dal Lake to Asian games Jury in China”