Srinagar: Over the years Kashmir has produced various International level stars in watersports and now there is a new rising star Mubashir Ali set to join the list to carry forward that legacy.
Mubashir is hailed as the new rising star of Watersports and in the recently held National level championship, the Srinagar based athlete bagged a Gold medal for J&K.
Mubashir Ali bagged gold for J&K in the National Stead Paddling championship held at Bhopal Madhya Pradesh recently. He missed another medal in Canoe Sprint by finishing fourth.
Mubashir previously in various age groups has been winning medals for J&K on a consistent basis. He had last year bagged a bronze medal in Nationals for J&K in Canoe sprint and has so far around 16 medals under his belt at various levels for J&K.
“It is not easy now to bag medal in watersports at National. The sport is Olympic discipline and Competition across India has gone high. Almost all the States have started to focus on the development of this sport thus increasing the level of competition,” Mubashir said.
“I am happy with my performance in the National Championship but it could have been better if I would have bagged two or more medals,” he said.
Mubashir said that he trains daily in the Watersports centre of the Sports Council and intends to train hard for the upcoming events.
“I train daily for around three to four hours in Dal Lake as part of Sports Council training sessions. Our coach Bilquis Mir has been working hard on us and doesn’t allow us to relax even during the off-season or harsh weather conditions. The new players are coming up and in coming time we will see J&K bagging a lot of medals at the National level,” he said.
Bilquis who is Director of Watersports J&K Sports Council termed Mubashir a talented player who is set to become the new face of Canoeing in J&K.
“He is focussed on his game and has got a lot of talent. He works really hard and I am sure with the same focus and motivation he is going to achieve many milestones,” she said.
“Mubashir in coming time is going to become the new face of Watersports in J&K. He is also going to motivate many upcoming players with his rise and achievements,” she added.