Ganderbal, Dec 21 (KNO): After winning a gold medal at the state level in cycling, an 8th class student from Ganderbal now wants to play at national level. However, financial issues have become an obstacle for him to fulfil his dream.
Zaid Rashid,11, a resident of Saloora Ganderbal, while talking with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that he was interested in cycling since childhood, but after winning gold medal, he got more attracted to the sports.
However, his dream of participating in national and international events seems to be far from reality owing to his humble background.
"I need a racing cycle for preparation to reach to the top level. But due to financial issues, my family is not able to buy it for me," he said. "My father is a driver and is hardly able to meet our basic needs. He is not in a position to purchase a bicycle for me."
Zaid said though he had approached district administration to help him out but to no avail.
"I have won gold medal in cycling this year, besides, I secured Ist position in the pedal for peace event recently organised by police in Srinagar. But to go ahead in this field, I need a cycle which costs around Rs 2 lakh which my family is unable to afford," he said.
"There are hundreds of talented people who are wandering from one place to another only because of financial issues," he said, adding that the government must support talented youth financially and provide them with a platform to showcase their talent—(KNO)