Opinion | Khelo India Brings Hope to Kashmir’s Youth

“My future includes sports and I belong here.” “Give me a chance to play.”

On a cold morning in Sopore, as mist still clings to the ground and dew glistens on the grass, sixteen year old Aamir steps onto the football field with a sense of purpose that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. Back then, his days were marked by restlessness and a drifting uncertainty about what the future might hold. Today, everything has changed. Under the Khelo India programme, he trains with a certified coach, undergoes regular fitness assessments, and dares to dream of representing Jammu and Kashmir at the national level. His story is not unique. Across the Kashmir Valley, similar transformations are quietly unfolding on playing fields that were once silent and abandoned. Girls who rarely ventured beyond their homes now sprint across open grounds with newfound pride and confidence. Teachers who spent their entire careers confined to dusty classrooms have become mentors, talent scouts, and counsellors who see potential in every child. This is the deeper, more human story of Khelo India in Kashmir. It is not merely a government scheme documented on paper, but a genuine movement that touches questions of identity, resilience, and belonging in a region that has known too much uncertainty. For decades, sports in Kashmir struggled against multiple obstacles including limited infrastructure, economic barriers, and a deeply ingrained cultural belief that games were frivolous distractions that would somehow spoil studies and ruin academic futures. Khelo India has fundamentally rewritten that narrative by placing sports within a broader framework of holistic development that encompasses health and fitness, psychological wellbeing, discipline and leadership, and social harmony and community engagement. Playgrounds have reemerged not merely as spaces for competition but as safe zones where young people can grow, express themselves, and discover hope. One of the programme’s quiet revolutions has been its scientific approach to talent identification. More than twenty three lakh children across India, including thousands across Jammu and Kashmir, have undergone structured fitness assessments designed to identify potential at an early age. Over sixty six thousand teachers have been trained to spot emerging athletes and nurture their talents. Instead of relying on luck or family connections, children now enter structured pathways through Khelo India Centres and Khelo India State Centres of Excellence where they gain access to professional coaches, physiotherapists, nutritionists, and sports psychologists. Today, two thousand eight hundred and forty five Khelo India Athletes benefit from this holistic support system that has transformed sport from an elite privilege into a genuine possibility for ordinary children. A physical education teacher from Baramulla reflects on one of her students, sharing that he was restless and unfocused before joining Khelo India training, but after he started, his confidence changed dramatically and remarkably, his academics improved as well. In Pulwama, coach Tariq vividly remembers the first batch of students he trained under the programme. They did not know basic warm up exercises, they had no understanding of discipline, but what they did have was an unmistakable fire burning inside them. Through Khelo India training, Tariq himself learned new techniques and more importantly, he learned how to counsel adolescents, prevent burnout, and encourage girls to participate in sports. Today, his centre regularly places players in district level tournaments and he says with evident pride that he does not just coach players, he builds responsible youth who will shape the future. The programme has also created a national inventory of over eleven thousand geo tagged playfields, allowing for better planning and resource allocation. In Jammu and Kashmir, schools and community grounds are slowly being revived and modernised. More than fifteen thousand physical education teachers nationwide now function as trained community coaches, turning schools into living, breathing activity hubs. For many villages in north and south Kashmir, these are the first structured platforms that youth have ever had access to. The emphasis on inclusion, particularly through initiatives focused on empowering girls, has changed countless lives. Nusrat, a Class 10 student from Budgam, joined a football programme despite considerable hesitation at home. She recalls being shy at first and feeling the weight of people staring at her, but her coach kept encouraging her, repeatedly telling her that she belonged on that field. Today, Nusrat captains her school team and her mother admits with a mixture of pride and surprise that her daughter smiles more now, studies better, and that they never knew sports could have such a positive impact. This single transformation repeats itself across dozens of villages throughout Kashmir, gradually shifting deep rooted perceptions about girls, confidence, and equality. Beyond the trophies and medals, the emotional and psychological impact has been profound. Participants consistently report higher self-esteem, improved decision making abilities, reduced stress and feelings of isolation, and enhanced teamwork and leadership capabilities. Teachers and parents observe that sports participation has improved school attendance and classroom focus, while community elders note more cooperation among youth and fewer behavioural conflicts. In a region that has been tested by decades of uncertainty and disruption, sports has quietly become a form of therapy that heals invisible wounds. Seventeen year old Shahnaz from Tangmarg discovered skiing through a Khelo India winter camp and describes the feeling of standing on a slope as making her feel fearless. Today she trains under professional supervisors, an opportunity that would have been unimaginable for a girl from her modest background, and she speaks with clarity about wanting to teach other girls because sport gave her courage and she wants to pass that gift on to others. Khelo India has supported athletes who have gone on to shine on international stages, including champions like Mirabai Chanu, Manu Bhaker, and Anshu Malik. For Kashmiri youth watching these journeys, the message is profound and clear that talent in small towns is not small talent. More athletes from Kashmir now compete nationally in football, martial arts, athletics, fencing, and winter sports, building a pipeline of excellence that was once thought impossible. Across Kashmir today, schools celebrate sports achievements alongside academic results, parents actively encourage participation, youth clubs collaborate productively with authorities, and local administrations invest meaningful resources in playfields and facilities. Sport is no longer considered extracurricular or optional. It has become an integral part of growing up. Of course, sustaining this momentum requires honestly confronting real challenges including ensuring consistent access to quality coaches in remote areas, providing financial support for long term athlete development journeys, creating academic backup systems for those who do not turn professional, and maintaining safety and inclusion for rural girls who still face social barriers. What Khelo India has ultimately given Kashmir goes far beyond medals and recognition. It has offered safe playgrounds where children can be children, direction and discipline when chaos seemed overwhelming, mental resilience to face an uncertain future, community bonding that transcends divisions, and hope that feels real and tangible rather than abstract. A new sentence is now heard across the Kashmir Valley that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago, spoken by young voices filled with confidence and determination. “My future includes sports and I belong here.” And when one of these young athletes someday stands under the national flag on a global stage with a medal around their neck and tears of joy streaming down their face, the applause and pride will belong to every teacher who encouraged when it was easier to ignore, every parent who believed when society doubted, every coach who refused to give up on potential when others saw only problems, and most of all, to every child who once whispered with hope and longing, give me a chance to play.

Author can be reached at: nazirshahid378@gmail.com