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Rifat Mohidin
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, December 12
When Tsering Angmo, 28, opted for sports in the cold desert of Ladakh in 2006, local people had no idea that girls could adopt sports as a career.
A resident of Leh town, Angmo took to judo as a teenager and later got an opportunity to try wushu, which remains her favourite sport. She excelled in it and took part in many tournaments until she joined the state Sports Council Department.
“In Leh, it was very difficult at that time because there was no idea about career in sports. There were no facilities so whatever I had to do, it was on my own. I went to Jammu for training and then I took part in wushu contests in Delhi,” said Angmo, who has been recently appointed as the supervisor of Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council in Leh. She is the only employee of the council in Leh.
Even after a decade, Leh had not progressed much in terms of sports due to the lack of facilities despite having enormous talent, she said.
“There is no infrastructure in Leh. Though there are physical education teachers and students participate in sports at the school and district-level, there are no professional trainers who would encourage youngsters to opt for career in sports,” she said.
Recently, she led an all-women cricket team from Leh to Srinagar to take part in the first J&K women’s T20 cricket tournament. This was for the first time that a women cricket team from Ladakh participated in the tournament.
“It was difficult for me to convince the parents and the principals of the schools to allow the girls to play in Srinagar because they were not used to it,” she said.
As a team manger, Angmo also led J&K’s women footballers to meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi. She told him about the lack of sports infrastructure for women in the state, particularly in Ladakh.
“There is a lot of talent here. People have stamina as they are used to playing on a high altitude but they just need attention of the government,” Angmo said.
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