The distribution of ₹2.71 crore among 580 outstanding sportspersons and international athletes from Jammu and Kashmir is a welcome recognition of talent that too often grows despite the system rather than because of it.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah deserves credit for acknowledging a simple truth: medals are not produced on the day of a competition. They are produced through years of training, coaching, sacrifice, discipline and, above all, access to the right infrastructure.
The cash awards covering 2023-24 and 2024-25 are meaningful, but they should not become the destination. They must be the beginning of a much larger and sustained investment in sport.
For years, Jammu and Kashmir has produced exceptional athletes across disciplines, often from modest backgrounds and places where even basic sporting facilities remain inadequate. Many young athletes train on poor playing surfaces, lack synthetic tracks and indoor facilities, struggle to find quality coaching and sometimes have to spend heavily on equipment and travel. Families frequently carry a burden that should, at least in part, be shared by institutions.
This is where policy must move beyond ceremonies. Jammu and Kashmir needs a clearly defined grassroots sporting strategy. Every district should have functional, accessible and properly maintained sporting facilities. Mountainous and winter-bound areas require special attention because weather can keep outdoor athletes away from training for months. Indoor facilities, synthetic tracks, multipurpose halls and sport-specific training centres should not be treated as luxuries.
The Union Territory also possesses a natural advantage that has remained insufficiently exploited, its altitude, terrain and climate. Properly planned high-altitude training centres could attract athletes from across the country while providing local sportspersons with opportunities that currently remain limited.
Equally important is the need to broaden the sporting ecosystem. Cricket will naturally command attention, but Jammu and Kashmir’s sporting ambitions cannot be built around one discipline. Athletics, football, martial arts, boxing, wrestling, winter sports, cycling and other emerging disciplines deserve systematic support
