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This is Irtiqa Ayoub, the youngest Rugby coach from Jammu and Kashmir. She started playing rugby when she was 16-years-old, and since then there has been no looking back.
At first, she had faced many problems as it is not easy here(Kashmir) for a girl to stay away from her home. Initially, her father wasn’t very supportive of her playing rugby. But her father has finally understood her passion for the sport with time and now has her back.
She confessed that she used to wear jeans, hit the gym, go to coach rugby so all the time she and her family get nasty comments from people, death threats due to which she was in depression for a year. But her family helped her to move out of this and supported her all the time.
She has always been interested in sports and loved playing football. But when rugby was first introduced in her school, she was hesitant to play because she was having no idea what rugby was, or even what the ball looked like. It was only when her coach in school encouraged her to try this new sport and finally she loved the game.
Irtiqa has won seven gold medals at the state level, and seven at the district level. She won a silver medal for Rugby 7’s in 2016 and 2017, and a gold medal for snow Rugby in 2017.
After winning many medals at the district and state levels, it encourages her to become more and more professional in this sport. So she thought of becoming a coach.
About a year-and-a-half ago, Irtiqa decided to take her love and passion for the sport to the next level and began coaching assignments in schools and colleges across the Valley. She becomes the youngest rugby coach in Kashmir.
Irtiqa now runs a club where she trains girls to make it to the nationals, and nurses the dream to represent.
She is fearless, passionate, spirited, and discerning. She is a shining example of how when young girls are empowered and given freedom of choice, they can surmount any challenge.