Srinagar, June 29 -- There are places the world forgets. Corners where dust gathers on ambition, and the soft sounds of effort go unheard. For me, that place has always been the mat.

I first stepped onto it as a girl with hope and excitement, dreaming of being called a sportsperson, something my parents taught me to be: someone who is strong, unafraid, who fights for what is right. I didn't know what a Judoka was then. I just knew this was my calling.

The mat was not grand. It did not glow. It was just around 14 or 12 blue mats in Srinagar, softened by years of falling feet and honest struggle. But to me, it was the beginning of something sacred.

Judo arrived in my life without noise, without announcements. It came like the slow fillin...