A 20-year-old girl from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district has brought laurels to Jammu Kashmir by bagging gold medal in Mixed Martial Arts Championship in Delhi.
Shariya Manzoor, a resident of Nehama village in Kakapora, who is pursuing her Bachelor’s from Government Degree College Pulwama wants to participate in mega international events.
Talking with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Shariya said that she was happy to win the gold medal at the national level in martial arts and she will work hard as her dream is to reach to the international level.
She said that she was interested in martial arts since her childhood but in the absence of any infrastructure and coach in the district she faced various challenges.
“I had to merge with martial arts in the absence of any support from the government. I have won gold medals in the national Tang Soo Do championship and national boxing championship, besides I have also participated in belt wrestling championship,” she added.
She also thanked Owais Yaqoob, a martial art player and coach from Pulwama for teaching her and helping her win the gold in martial arts.
Shariya also thanked J&K MMA association for providing her opportunity to showcase her talent at the national level.
She said that lack of infrastructure is becoming an obstacle for dozens of youth especially girls who are interested in martial arts but are forced to choose some other field.
“My dream is to reach to the international stage and perform well in mega events but I want support from the government so that I can prove my mettle at mega stages,” she said.
She said that she is practicing hard and learning some art forms and boxing at the Lion’s Den academy in Pulwama and she was hopeful that she can participate in mega international events and showcase her skills—(KNO)