Faisal Ali Dar from Kashmir is hogging the headlines for all the good reasons and has come as a whiff of fresh air. Faisal Ali Dar, a martial arts coach from Bandipora district was among the 128 sportspersons who won the prestigious Padma Shri Award, the list of which was announced by the Government of India on the eve of Republic Day for their outstanding achievements in the field of sports.
Overwhelmed with joy after being conferred the Prestigious Padma Shri Award for his contribution in the field of sports, Ali said that he is thankful to the government for choosing him for this award.
Dar said that getting Padma Shri award is an historical achievement and is proud moment for him, his family, teachers and his students.
Soon after completing his graduation from Bandipora Degree College in 2008, Dar preferred to devote himself fully to martial arts. In 2003, Faisal Ali Dar started his career in wushu, a form of martial arts. However, it didn’t take off. He switched to kickboxing in 2008. Two years later, he got a medal in the Asian kickboxing championship. This encouraged him to start martial arts coaching in Bandipora town.
Ali has set up a martial arts training academy, ‘Ali Sports Academy’ and has bagged several awards besides the Padma Shri Award. Ali has 17 branches of his academy in different districts of Jammu and Kashmir where children apart from learning martial arts also learn other sports like Rugby, Water Sports, Badminton and volleyball he has introduced. Dar claims that 13,000 students are enrolled in his sports academy across districts. He charges Rs 50 per year from each student. Moreover, Dar visits different schools and motivates students interested in sports to take up martial arts.
