The World Pencak Silat Championship is a global event where athletes from all over the world come to compete in Pencak Silat, a traditional martial art from Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia and Malaysia. The competition includes different events like fighting matches, where fighters compete against each other.
On December 26, 2024, in a proud moment for the saffron town of Pampore in South Kashmir, Sajad Ahmad Bhat and his daughter Muqadas Muskan, from Namblabal Pampore, won gold medals at the renowned Abu Dhabi World Pencak Silat Championship 2024.
The 5th and 20th World Pencak Silat Championships took place at the ADNEC Exhibition Centre in Abu Dhabi, with 57 countries participating. The father and daughter, representing India, impressed everyone with their skills and hard work, bringing pride to their town and country. This amazing achievement has been widely celebrated in Pampore, marking an important moment in the town’s sports history.
In an interview with Rising Kashmir, Muqadas Muskan said, “I have been practicing martial arts since 2012 and have played in 30 nationals, and, Alhamdulillah, I have medals from all of them. This was a dream of mine to play internationally, and it has now come true, and I won a gold medal. The training I went through was very hard. Since we got the news of the screening and trials, I had to practice very hard.”
“Pencak Silat is a recognized sport, and my message to the government is to promote this game even more because it has a very bright future for the current generation. It’s a great game with high potential and is recognized everywhere, including in the job sector. Due to the winter, we had to pause, so we requested an indoor stadium to be provided.” she added.
She fought in four matches, with her final one against a German opponent, whom she beat to win the gold. Muqadas was very thankful to her coaches, Irfan Sir and Iqbal Sir, for their constant support, and to her father, Sajad Ahmad, who made sure she trained hard.
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Muqadas thanked her parents for always encouraging her, which helped her reach this important achievement. She has won many gold medals at both national and international events and now hopes to compete in the Olympic Games, aiming to win a gold medal there too.
Sajad Bhat, who also won the gold medal, is both the coach and father of Muqadas said, “I have taught thousands of children because Pampore is known as the “Mother of Martial Arts.” Everyone knows that martial arts originated here in Pampore, and today, martial arts is flourishing throughout Jammu and Kashmir. Another double joy for me is that my daughter also participated, and she too won a gold medal.” he said.
“We are very thankful to the Sports Council for sponsoring us and providing us with many facilities. I also thank Satish Sharma Ji, our current minister, who sponsored Muqadas. We are very grateful to him for the investment he made in us, and as a gift, we gave both gold medals to him, to India, to Kashmir, and to South Kashmir, Pampore.” Sajad added.
Since 1994, Sajad has taught many young people, with several of them becoming doctors, and engineers, getting jobs in different government sectors. He encouraged the youth to stay away from drugs and focus on sports, which can give them a positive path in life. “Sports help shape futures and provide chances for growth,” he said.
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Jasir Basharat is a cricket enthusiast capturing the heart of the game through insightful analysis and storytelling sharing his passion for the sport through engaging narratives. He is a business graduate from University of Kashmir.
