Wushu coach in Kashmir nurtures young talent

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], October 24 (ANI): Rameez Ahmad, a Wushu coach who hails from Kashmir, trains and encourages the younger generation of the Valley to pick up the sport to compete at the National and International competitions.
Rameez completed his coaching course from Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala in 2016. He also did the National Referee course which was held at Chhattisgarh in 2017 and recently participated in the Online training of Coaches under the Emblem of Sports Authority Of India (SAI).
"I went to the coaching camp to Patiala there. After that, I did two-three more courses. I went to the Sports Authority of India in Manipur for a coaching course organised by SAI in collaboration with the Wushu Association of India under Chinese experts," Rameez told ANI.
Rameez, who won a bronze medal in Kickboxing back in the year 2002 in Kolkata, now aims to nurture the local talent and groom them. He aspires to become an international referee and the coach of the India national team.
"In 2015, I had a total number of 6 students. Even though fewer students are coming nowadays due to COVID-19, I now have around 150-200 students. These students and their parents are satisfied with the practice. We spend around 2 hours with them for their practice. We also take them on trekking on Sundays," said Rameez.
"We are not just training them for a couple of hours. We are there with the whole year. The students are inspired by the efforts their association and coaches are putting into them and they also give their best," he continued.
"If we get good achievements from our students and the association, sports council and my family keeps supporting us in this work, I dream to become an international referee and the coach of the India national team," Rameez further said.
But life wasn't as easy as it seems for Rameez. He wanted to be a sportsperson but didn't have enough facilities and guidance while he was young.
Rameez's second cousin was a Wushu player who helped him getting the knack of the game. Prior to that Rameez had already joined Taekwondo academics to practice under coaches. He then emerged victorious in the first District Taekwondo Championship which multiplied his interest in the game.
"When I was in school, I wanted to do sports, but my school did not have good facilities for sports. I had a second cousin who played Wushu. He spoke to my parents and after that, I started my game. Early on, we only used to play taekwondo because Wushu wasn't popular here," Rameez, who has a won gold medal in the Open Kashmir competition, said.
"In 1999 and 1999, the sports council had started some sports campaign. We participated in those events. I participated in some district competitions and won some medals. My family also started supporting me after that and it also inspired me to do more," he added.
After 8 years practicing in Taekwondo, he kick-started his practice in Wushu under senior coaches and participated in a district, State, School National and Sub-junior, Junior, and Senior National.
In 2012, Rameez joined District Wushu Association Srinagar and went to Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council where he was provided with guidance on the coaching schedule. (ANI)