At the age of 10, when most children are still discovering their interests, Srinagar’s Suhaib Feroze Jeelani was already representing his state at national-level rugby tournaments. For nearly a decade, rugby shaped his sporting identity. But a single thought kept bothering him.
“What if the team’s defeat comes because of one mistake? I wanted my performance to define my success and failure,” says Suhaib.
That thought changed the course of his life.
In 2018, after almost ten years in rugby, Suhaib made a bold decision. He walked away from the familiarity of a team sport and embraced martial arts, an individual discipline where every victory and defeat rests solely on the athlete’s shoulders.
The transition was anything but easy.
“Rugby is a full-contact team sport. Martial arts was completely different. I had to learn everything from zero. It took me a lot of time to make that transition,” he said while speaking to Greater Kashmir
What began as a difficult experiment soon turned into an extraordinary success story.
Suhaib said that, within a year he announced his arrival by winning a silver medal at the All India Inter-University Championship in 2019. The same year, he struck gold at the 4th North India Championship.
The victories kept coming.
He won gold medals at the Senior National Championships in 2020, 2021 and 2022, besides clinching Federation Cup titles in 2021 and 2022. His consistency made him one of the most dependable martial artists.
However, his ambitions extended beyond India’s borders.
Suhaib said that in 2022 he represented the nation at the international stage, securing a silver medal at the Asian Championship. The achievement, he said firmly established him among the continent’s elite martial artists.
Then came the year that transformed his career forever.
In 2023, he said that he captured the gold medal at the National Games, often referred to as India’s Mini Olympics.
“National Games is the biggest tournament in the country. Winning gold there was the most significant achievement of my life,” said Suhaib.
The same year, he added more glitter to his resume by winning gold medals at the Senior National Championship, Federation Cup and All India Championship.
His international journey also continued to flourish. In 2024, he brought laurels to the country by winning a bronze medal at the World Championship, a feat that underlined his ability to compete against the world’s best.
In all, Suhaib has accumulated numerous medals at national and international levels, including an Asian Championship silver and a World Championship bronze, achievements that have made him one of Kashmir’s distinguished martial artists.
Yet, the journey has come at a cost.
“Years of intense training and competition have left me battling injuries. Finger dislocations, ankle injuries and an ACL tear have forced me away from regular training for nearly two years”, said Suhaib.
“The last major tournament I played was the World Championship. Since then, I have been recovering from injuries and haven’t trained properly,” he said.
At 27, with nearly 17 years of sporting experience behind him, Suhaib’s ambitions have evolved.
Today, my dream is no longer confined to personal medals.
“I want to train as many athletes as I can, athletes who can represent India in the next five to ten years. That is my goal now,” he said.
His message extends beyond martial arts.
“I request every parent to encourage their children to participate in sports. It doesn’t matter whether it is martial arts, football or any other game. Sports teach discipline and shape lives.”
Suhaib remembers a time when pursuing sports in Kashmir was far from easy.
“When I started, there was hardly any sporting culture, infrastructure or equipment. Today, facilities are much better and opportunities are increasing.”
But there is one change he still wants to see.
“Keep sports away from politics and favouritism. Athletes work incredibly hard and make enormous sacrifices to reach national competitions. They deserve fairness and justice.”
From a young rugby player in fourth grade to an international medallist and now an aspiring mentor, Suhaib Feroze Jeelani’s journey is a story of courage, reinvention and resilience, a reminder that sometimes the most defining victories begin with the courage to change direction.
