Bhopal: ‘Ladakh doesn’t have sports policy or culture'

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Except for snow-clad roads, trees and mountain summits, Ladakh and its surrounding areas offer nothing to its people. The girls remain confined to their homes. Yet, some of them have the zeal to do something out of the ordinary. So, a team comprising girls from that inaccessible terrain is in Bhopal to take part in Khelo India Youth Games.

One of the girls Aisya Banoo is from Aryan Valley. She belongs to Brokpas tribe, descendants of Alexander’s armymen. She is the first girl from her valley to take up sports. When I told my father that I wanted to join boxing, she said, you’ll destroy your face. It is not good for girls. But I am determined to be like Mary Kom, I want to be the first Hijabi Mary Kom” she said. Talking about life of Ladakhi, she added, "It's tolerable in summer, but it's frozen hell in winter."

Every young person's travel bucket list includes Ladakh but for Ladakhi, life is difficult because commuting is a major problem. “During summer, we have only two buses from our village to main city. In winters, getting transport facility within the region is nearly impossible," said Ladakh team coach Mustafa.

Irfan Ali, 16, said, "It has been approximately four years since Ladakh became a Union Territory, but we don’t have sports policy or culture there. Now, the government is trying to build sports infrastructure, but what good is a medal if we don’t get rewards for winning it?"

Boxer Kulsoom said, When I told my mother that I wanted to do boxing, she said, "This is not a girl's sport, you will have to remove your hijab and wear shorts." But I said, "No, ammi, I can do everything that anyone else can while wearing my hijab."

Published on: Friday, February 03, 2023, 10:08 PM IST