Meet Sabahat Afreen, Kashmir’s First Martial Arts Player

At the age of 8, Sabahat faced opposition from people questioning her choice of wearing hijab during training. 

Sabahat’s father is a pharmacist, and her mother is a homemaker. She is currently pursuing a BSc degree. 

Despite the lack of facilities at the academy and the financial constraints, Sabahat remained determined and received her training in slippers. 

Sabahat has participated in Taekwondo competitions at both national and international levels. She has won medals at district-level championships.

Sabahat has won 4 National Championships, 3 Federation Cups, and Asia Championship.

Sabahat was selected for the Commonwealth Games, that were to take place in Malaysia. However, the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. 

People often provoked Sabahat’s father, and the coach had to step in to convince him to continue her training. 

Sabahat’s coach, Faisal Ali Daar has been honoured with the Padma Shri award. 

When Sabahat’s father saw her winning medals at the championships, he wholeheartedly started supporting her.