Sporting Star Salma Bi
By Emb Hashmi
Asian World exclusively interviewed the award winning cricket playing sports coach Salma Bi.
For those who do not know Salma Bi, how would you describe yourself and your talent? Who are you and what do you do specialise in and why?
Salma isn’t Performing, Coaching, Umpiring or Hosting Big World Record attempts, Salma Works as a Full-Time Heamodialyisis Renal Adult Nurse in a hospital at the Main Renal Unit which Delivers care to In and Outpatients. Working as a Qualified Nurse for over 3 Years, she has once again proven two vital careers can be juggled and combined in a way that not only have impact on her life but for others around her
Some of Salma Bi Achievements
Five ways Old Edwardians Cricket Club Women’s & Men’s 3rds Player
Hawarden Cricket Club Squad Player
Great White Sharks Futsal Team Captain & Goal Keeper
Fiveways Zombies Indoor Cricket Captain
Salma Bi Awards
British Asian Sports Awards 2009 Outstanding Achievement Award Winner
Asian of Achievement Award Winner Sports Award 2012
British Asian Sports Award 2010 Coach of the Year Runner-up
Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation Ambassador Awards Runner-up
OSCA’s Natwest Volunteer of the Year Award 2012 Building Partnerships
When did you know you had a talent for sport? Why cricket?
“Aged 10 I began playing cricket alongside my brothers and father. Watching one of my role-models Shane Warne Salma over time mastered the off-spin using her unique un-orthodox spin, at secondary school I was captain which got her recognized for county Trials”. Aged 22 Salma made history by trialing for Worcestershire County Cricket Club and been selected as the only and First Asian Muslim girl in History.
Does your family support you?
“Growing up in a sporting family encouraged me to stay active and gave the best possible start to get into professional teams but there always hurdles, especially in the community. Most of your friends will not be Asian, your local area may not have clubs for you to join and as for the wider community it still doesn’t see Asian girls taking up sports as a career but this is where you learn to push on and carry on setting that landmark for others to follow”.
How does winning make you feel?
“Winning makes me feel great; always a proud feeling to know what you’ve put in is what you get out. Makes it all worth the time you give up from socialising, the time away from your family and the risks you take to take on projects no one else has yet achieved. We only want the end result to be a success and so far it has, however Life is all about taking these risks and if you can’t do it properly and not deliver your work with the passion you contain then it isn’t going to pay off”.
Who are your Cricket idols and why?
Shane Warne, A young Talented Spin Bowler who first hit the screens representing Australia The Magical Moment When He Bowled Gatting out and the World Looked on. An Impact he made into the Cricket world was amazing. This is how I Bowl and a mile when I leave my batsman startled and wondering how much the ball just spun. Another Heroic Cricketer Usman Khawaja First ever Asian batsman to represent Australia. A feeling when I was first representing Worcestershire County.
Salma & Gemma Aspiring Sports Woman
Gemma has a distinguished background in football as a goalkeeper, even though she is a more than useful outfield player.
Gemma Smith, manager of the Birmingham Women’s Futsal League and founder of the new SPORTING PATHWAYS initiative
The highlight of Gemma’s career came when she was selected for the England Under-17s squad following a successful trial.
Gemma also co-ordinates the ever-growing Birmingham Women’s Futsal Leagues. She said: “When we started off in March last year we had just two teams, but now we’ve got three divisions and 18 teams. I’ve been involved in ladies football for a number of years so managed to attract a lot of players that way, but also through advertising on networking sites like Facebook and word of mouth.”
Some ACHIEVEMENTS:
Birmingham County Centre of Excellence
England Under 17’s
Coventry City Football Club
Birmingham Futsal Technical Manager
Do you both think woman’s sports and sports woman get the recognition they deserve?
Women and sport is another obstacle I have faced. As the main sport I play is football which is said to be male dominated. You have to prove yourself more, work harder and prove that women are just as capable as men when it comes to playing sports.
Do you find young people look up to you both?
Young people look up to us a lot, we find going into schools to coach, run a assembly or workshops they love reading up on us and are very fascinated by the work we’ve completed. The younger generation we find has all the necessary tools in place however they have a lot of distractions too and that can divert there attention to being unsure of what they want to achieve.
Where do you both see yourself in five years? How will you achieve this?
In Five Years we both see our Company Sporting Pathways Launched, In Process with top Business Events and A Recognised Face which is Successful in Making a Difference by Making History. We hope to carry on with our daily jobs as they are both very rewarding, coach youngsters and to create events that not only benefit women but also Boys too.
