PE Goes Digital in Kashmir

Smartwatches, virtual courts, and fitness apps are reshaping how students in Kashmir experience physical activity. It’s not just about sports anymore, it’s about data, goals, and digital play.

- Qasim Ali Mir

In Kashmir, physical education is no longer limited to dusty playgrounds or warm-up drills on frosty mornings. The subject that once meant stretching, team games, and laps around the school field is slowly being shaped by something unexpected: technology.

Our students today don't just run or jump. They track. They compete with themselves. They wear smartwatches that count steps and check their heart rate. They use apps that guide their workouts and cheer them on when they cross a milestone. It’s a different kind of PE, one that speaks their language.

Fitness in schools used to be about the group: how fast the whole class could run, or how well teams worked together. That still matters.

But with gadgets in hand, it's becoming personal too. Students set their own fitness goals. One wants to improve sleep. Another is tracking how her pulse changes with each sprint. A third is simply trying to beat his last push-up count.