Nasir Aziz
Younis Reshi, 26, is one of the first traceur of south Kashmir who has been practising parkour with a group of young boys in Verinag garden in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. Quite fascinated with the art, Reshi believes that parkour – an athletic discipline in which practitioners (or traceur) combine gymnastic, acrobatics, running, and jumping, to traverse a variety of terrains – has the capacity to the take youth in Kashmir by a storm.
Hailing from a lower middle class family, Reshi, actually an athlete, has participated in many competitions earlier and has won gold, silver, and bronze medals at state level. Gradually, he started developing interest in the art of parkour.
“I was fond of running since my childhood, until parkour ignited the spark in me. Though it is new in Kashmir and most of the people here do not know about this sport, yet it is gaining publicity and attracting the young generation like anything,”
he says.
Revealing how he got drawn towards parkour, Reshi says, “I could not continue my studies after secondary schooling. I came to know about this art after watching Hollywood movies. That is when the idea struck me. I also started watching videos on YouTube of traceur around the world and imitate them.”
Reshi is currently working towards creating awareness in Kashmir about parkour and is training the basics of the sport to young aspirants. As the future seems promising, with many young boys requesting training sessions to him, he also plans to start coaching for such aspiring candidates at a larger scale.
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“It has been more than one year and the journey has been tough, with no financial support or proper facilities, but I did not lose hope, and turned every hardship into opportunity, keeping with the real spirit of parkour. The art needs more attention of the aspiring athletes,” claims a confident Reshi.
Keeping in view the increasing problem of drug addiction among the youth, Reshi avers that parkour can act as a strong determiner in keeping them at a distance from this menace. “My sole aim is to save the young generation from drug addiction. My firm belief is that the youth here are excited towards this art, which in turn may keep them away from drugs. That is why I chose the art,” he added.
