Five boys have been selected for the Mazury Ice Curling Championship in Poland that is to be held in August this year.
The five boys belong to South Kashmir and interestingly one among them has introduced this game in 2021. Showkat Rasool and Bhat Gulzar are from Awantipora of Pulwama district while Sheikh Basit Saleem, Zubair Bashir, and Musaib Mushtaqarefrom the Dailgam area of Anantnag district.
They earlier played National Championship in January and won bronze, silver and gold medals. Then they also participated in Khelo India Winter Games where they got bronze and silver medals.
Curling is a team sport, played on ice, where two teams take turns to slide stones made of granite towards a target – known as a House. It is an Olympic and Paralympic winter sport with medal disciplines for Women’s, Men’s, Mixed Doubles and mixed Wheelchair teams.
“It is a proud moment for me and for the whole of Jammu and Kashmir that we will be representing India at an international forum. We worked hard for this,” Saleem said. He further added that it was not possible for him without the support of his family.
“This is a regular Olympic game and it is being played in many parts of the world. It was not introduced in Kashmir till 2021. Now around 60 boys in different categories are playing this game,” Showkat Rasool said.
He further added that it is a proud moment for him and his mates that they will represent the country at an international level. “All of us have worked hard and done rigorous practices for this Championship. We will give our best and we are hopeful that we will come back with medals and victory,” Rasool said.