Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Pulwama district has emerged champions of the Inter-District Provincial Level Karate Championship for Boys, topping the standings as the tournament concluded at the Indoor Sports Stadium in Budgam. Budgam finished as runners-up, with Anantnag placing third in a competition that brought together young karate practitioners from across the districts of Kashmir province in all age categories.
The championship was organised by the District Youth Services and Sports Office, Budgam, and conducted under the overall direction of Anuradha Gupta, Director General of the Department of Youth Services and Sports, Jammu and Kashmir, with District Youth Services and Sports Officer Jai Pal Singh overseeing arrangements on the ground. The event brought together boys across multiple age groups, giving young athletes from different districts a structured platform to test their skills against peers from across the province.
At the concluding ceremony, District Information Officer Budgam, Mir Liyaqat Ali, attended as Chief Guest and felicitated the participating players, presenting trophies and medals to the top three position-holding districts. Individual players were also recognised with medals for their performances during the championship, a gesture organisers said was intended to encourage continued participation in competitive sport at the district level.
Speaking at the ceremony, the District Information Officer underlined the role sports can play in steering young people away from drug abuse and other negative influences, a concern that has featured prominently in the administration’s youth outreach efforts across Jammu and Kashmir in recent months. He urged young people to take up sport actively and channel their energy in a positive direction, noting that disciplined participation in games such as karate helps build confidence, teamwork and a healthy competitive spirit, qualities he said contribute directly to a stronger and more resilient society.
The Inter-District Provincial Level Championship format, which pits district contingents against one another rather than individual clubs, has increasingly been used by the Department of Youth Services and Sports to identify emerging talent while simultaneously promoting grassroots sporting culture in smaller towns and rural pockets of the Valley. For the young karate players who competed in Budgam, the tournament offered a rare opportunity to showcase their training on a provincial stage, testing both technique and temperament against contingents from neighbouring districts.
With Pulwama’s win, District Youth Services and Sports Office, Budgam has closed out this edition of the championship, adding karate to the growing calendar of inter-district competitions the department has been organising as part of its broader push to keep young people engaged in structured, disciplined sporting activity across Jammu and Kashmir.
