'My Father Didn't Support Me And People Gossiped'

But Srinagars Irtiqa Ayoub pursued her dream of playing rugby. Today, the 23-year-old may well be the youngest rugby coach in Kashmir.

- Nikita Sawant

How many kids you know play rugby? Not too many, for sure. While the sport may not be popular in the country, for Irtiqa Ayoub, it means freedom—to be who she is and to prove that girls can play whichever sport they choose to. “A few years ago, I had no idea what rugby was, or even what the ball looked like. It was only when our coach in school encouraged me to try it out that I found I loved the game,” she remembers. While she was always interested in sports—she loved playing football in the narrow alleys of her town—Ayoub was reluctant to try rugby. But once she did try it, there was no looking back.