After my coaching stint across the country, I decided to return to the valley in 2014 and help youth – especially the girls – to get into water sports.
I’m overwhelmed by the positive response of the youth. Surely things have changed since my sporting days. And it’s really encouraging.
When I see parents accompanying their girl children to get enrolled in my coaching centre, I feel happy.
Interestingly, in all these years, a large number of my trainees have been girls. So far they’ve won over 120 medals in different categories of water sports at the national level.
Besides coaching people in canoeing and kayaking in Srinagar, I work as the director of the Water Sports Centre, Nehru Park.
The specialised diplomas in water sports from Germany and Hungary help me in my work.
It might sound cliche, but the only mantra I believe in is “Where there is a will, there is a way.”