FAISAL ALI DAR watched Enter the Dragon when he was in class X. He was so enamoured by Bruce Lee that he started mimicking the martial arts master’s stunts. He persevered until he had perfected some of Lee’s on-screen moves. His friends and neighbours told him that his passion would bring him nothing. But he continued to pursue it with determination.
The journey that Dar embarked on in 2003, from a village boy to a martial arts trainer, motivational speaker and social worker, is a gripping tale of hard work, dedication and sacrifice. He started with wushu and switched to kickboxing in 2008. In 2010, he won silver medal in the Asian kickboxing championship. Initially, his efforts to woo youngsters to the sport did not evoke much response. “People thought it was a waste of time,”he said.
At his village of Bagh in Bandipora, 70km north of Srinagar, the lack of proper training and equipment impeded his efforts to establish himself as a kickboxer. “When I was training for kickboxing, I would use nylon slippers to practice punching with other kids, as I did not have money to buy pads and punchers,” he said. “I did not know the rules. I needed a coach and proper equipment which I could not afford.”
Things changed when coach Kuldeep Handoo—the first Dronacharya awardee from Jammu and Kashmir—took him under his wings. “He worked on my fitness and training and also taught me the rules of the game,’’ he said. “I worked as a labourer to save money to travel to Jammu for training.”
His family was supportive, but he did not want to burden them. “During the harvest, I would work in the orchards to load apples in trucks,” he said. The money was barely enough for his travel and stay, but he continued his training. He worked with building contractors to fund jerseys and equipment.
It was during this time that Dar realised the need for a training academy in Kashmir. “After participating in different tournaments, I realised that if our youngsters get proper training and support, they will make it big,” he said.
Dar participated in four nationals and won two golds and one silver. He called it quits in 2013 so that he could devote himself to coaching youngsters at his Ali Sports Academy, named after his late grandfather, Muhammad Ali.
There are 2,687 students registered in 17 clubs under the academy. Sixteen of them have participated in international championships, bagging four golds, five silvers and three bronzes in various events. “At the national level, 24 players have won gold, 33 silver and 56 bronze in different martial arts events,’’ he said.
The academy’s training programmes have been popular with girls. “One of our trainees, Abida Akhtar, won a silver in the 48kg category wushu championship in Malaysia in 2017,” said Dar.
The academy offers coaching at an annual fee of Rs50. “We have opened branches of our academy in eight districts now,” said Dar. “I believe athletes from Jammu and Kashmir, with proper training and physical fitness, can win Olympic medals.”
Dar took up another mission when he realised the depth of drug addiction in the valley. “We worked on de-addiction and then introduced them to sports so that they don’t return to drugs.” Dar and his volunteers played an active role in relief and rescue in the 2014 floods and during the Covid-19 pandemic. “During the pandemic, we mobilised our volunteers to distribute food and medicine to the people at their doorsteps.”
Dar has also been active in social projects like plantation drives, sanitation drives, blood donation camps, disaster management drives, female self-defence training camps, and women empowerment awareness campaigns. “We are honoured that he has been awarded Padma Shri,” said his father, Muhammad Shafi Dar.
Dar is the first Padma Award winner in sport from Jammu and Kashmir. “It is his hard work that has paid off,” said Arsalan Habib, a friend. “His contribution to the promotion of sports is exemplary.”