Hockey is fast becoming a popular sport in Jammu and Kashmir, especially among youngsters, courtesy of initiatives by Hockey Jammu and Kashmir and JK Sports Council.
Among manyprograms launched by the State Member Unit to draw the attention of youth towards the sport includes providing proper infrastructure to trainees, organising coaching camps and tournaments at regular intervals in the Union Territory. They are also promoting the sport through different mediums like social media, advertisements, etc.
Supinder Deep Singh Bakshi, General Secretary of Hockey Jammu and Kashmir, provided a detailed description of how hockey is not only flourishing in the Union Territory but also providing positive direction and ample opportunities to young players. “First of all, we are focusing on the development of hockey infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir.
Nowadays, hockey is played on Astroturf instead of natural turf (grass) and given the fact that there was only one Astroturf in Jammu and Kashmir, hockey in the UT suffered a great deal. However, last year the J&K Sports Council decided to set up more Astroturfs in different districts of Jammu and Kashmir,” Bakshi said. “Recently, three new Astroturfs were laid down - one in Pulwama and two in Srinagar and youngsters have already started practising on them. Moreover, 2-3 Astroturfs are under construction and will be made operational in a couple of months,” he added.
In the recent past, Hockey Jammy & kashmir has successfully conducted numerous tournaments across age categories in different districts despite facing challenges like extreme weather conditions and high-security situations in the UT. In March this year, Senior Hockey Tournament (Men) was organised at Astroturf Hockey Stadium in District Jammu by Hockey J&K and sponsored by J&K Sports Council, while in April, Junior Hockey Tournament (Men) was organised in Jammu and it saw the participation of eight teams.
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