Bilquis Mir, a former World Cupper canoeist and an Olympic judge during first-ever Khelo India Water Sports Festival, Dal lake in Srinagar, on Thursday, 21, August 2025. File.
| Photo Credit: IMRAN NISSAR
Even as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah felicitated the J&K cricket team for winning their maiden Ranji Trophy, another sporting icon from the region, Bilquis Mir — who earned a sobriquet of “aqua queen” after becoming the first Indian woman on the Paris Olympics jury in 2024 — says she has been left distraught over the lack of government support to coach the national team for the 2026 Asian Games.
The Indian Kayaking & Canoeing Association (IKCA) on February 3, 2026, wrote to J&K Sports Minister Satish Sharma to spare “Ms. Bilquis Mir as coach for the national team preparation for the upcoming Asian Games 2026”.
“Ms. Mir has vast and distinguished experience in the field of kayaking and canoeing. She has earlier served as the National Coach of the Indian Team and has made significant contributions to the development of the sport at both national and international levels. Considering her technical expertise, international exposure, and proven coaching capabilities, her involvement in the National Coaching Camp will greatly strengthen the team’s preparation and enhance its performance in the forthcoming Asian Games,” said Prashant Kushwaha, president of the IKCA, in the letter.
In the larger interest of sports and the nation, the association requested that the services of Ms. Mir “may kindly be made available”.
“Without citing any reason, I am not being relieved to serve the nation. What are my sins? All I did was coaching hundreds of local men and women in water sports, who later made it big in several water sports games,” Ms. Mir told The Hindu.
Ms. Mir said she knocked on the doors of the Chief Minister’s Office and the Sports Ministry but received no response.
Besides being the first Indian woman on the Paris Olympics jury, Ms. Mir also was the Chief Finish Line Judge at the 2025 Asian Championship held in Nanjing, China.
She said she has been surviving without a salary for the past two years. “My father is bedridden because of the trauma faced by me. Now, it’s hard for me to believe that I am not allowed to coach the team for the Asian Games. It is a proud moment for me after all the personal struggle I launched in the past few years,” said Ms. Mir.
Her troubles began in 2023 after an anonymous complaint was lodged with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) questioning whether she possessed a Bachelors in Physical Education degree required to become a Physical Education Teacher (PET). However, in July 2025, the J&K High Court quashed the First Information Report (FIR) and described the investigation agency’s role as a ‘witch-hunt’.
Justice Sanjay Dhar of the J&K High Court, while quashing the FIR, observed that the attitude of the investigating agency “in criminalising non-acquisition of a technical qualification by the petitioner when she has brought laurels to the country all over the world speaks volumes about the manner in which we are treating our sporting heroes.”
The court held it was a fit case where this Court should exercise its powers under Section 528 of BNSS to quash the impugned FIR and the proceedings emanating therefrom so as to secure the ends of justice.
“This country has produced very few sports personalities and coaches of the level of the petitioner and instead of honouring them and celebrating their achievements, it seems that the people at helm of affairs are leaving no stone unturned in harassing such talented people,” the court observed .
Published – March 12, 2026 08:19 am IST
