Sometimes a match is more than a match. The kabaddi final at Kathua Stadium was one of those afternoons — a girls’ team playing for a title, and every kid in the stands learning what it feels like to belong to something that wins.
The AJ Fighters, our young women’s team, walked onto the court carrying more than a kit bag. They carried the hopes of a lot of families who had come to watch, and they answered every one of them.
A final decided by heart
Kabaddi is a sport that rewards nerve as much as strength — the lunges, the tags, the raids that hang on a single breath. Our girls showed both. They opened every raid with the sort of calm you only get from hours of practice, and defended each point like it was the last one of the day.
The crowd at the stadium knew it too. Every blockade drew a roar, every successful raid a wave of clapping that you could feel right through the ground.
More than a trophy
When the final whistle blew and the title was theirs, the girls fell into each other’s arms — laughing, crying, holding the trophy up to the stands. I was watching from the sideline, and I will be honest: my eyes were not completely dry either.
This is why I support teams like this. Not for the trophy — though the trophy is lovely — but for what it does to the young people of Kathua. It says: you can train, you can aim, you can win. It gives the youth something positive to hold onto, something to be proud of when so many pressures pull them in other directions.
What it means for our youth
A title like this does more for a community than a hundred speeches. It builds confidence. It builds discipline. It shows our children, and especially our girls, that their skills and their effort matter — that they have a place where they are celebrated.
I am simply happy to have been there, supporting the team and the people who came to cheer them on. The players did the hard work; my part was just to believe in them, and to make sure the ones who needed transport and encouragement got it.
Looking ahead
The celebrations are over, but the lesson stays. Our girls won a title at Kathua Stadium, and they brought something even bigger home with it: positivity for the youth of this district. That is the real win.
To everyone who trained them, drove them to practice, and stood in the stands — thank you. And to the AJ Fighters — the whole of Kathua is proud of you. Bring it home again next season.
Proud to support youth sport across Kathua. Want to help a young athlete get to the next match? Get in touch.