India to take part in Ice Hockey Tournament

Indian international ice-hockey team! Surprising? For the first time ever, India has sent a team of 20 players and five extras to Abu Dhabi, Dubai
to participate in the 2009 International Ice-Hockey Federation (IIHF) Challenge Cup.

This is the second Asian Ice-Hockey Championship and will be played between March 15 and 21 this year.

The entire team has been selected from Ladakh. Though the team has not pinned hopes on winning in the championship, but are hopeful of giving a tough fight to the opponents. Of these 25 players selected, only about five have played in a rink. Ladakh is the country’s highest ice-skating rink at 3,483 meters above sea level. The team has only played on natural ice and will get only one day for practising one artificial ice.

Surprisingly, Ice-hockey in India has very deep roots. A sport that was played by the Indian Army and local youth with improvised field hockey sticks and shoe polish tins as pucks to occupy themselves in the winter, has now come a long way. Areas like Shimla, Kashmir and Ladakh have emerged as a breeding ground for ice-hockey players. As there are n o artificial rinks in the country, the teams practice only for about two months in the winter.

Name Club Date of Birth Position
1 Abdul Gaffar Giri J&K Blue 2/15/1978 Defense
2 Abdul Qayoom Indo Tibetan Border Police 5/7/1980 Forward
3 Ali Amir Indo Tibetan Border Police 2/1/1980 Forward
4Phunchok Angchok Ladakh Scouts Regiment 3/3/1973 Forward
5 Havilder Deachen Outsal Indian Army 4/6/1973 Forward
6 Havilder Rinchen Tundup Ladakh Scouts Regiment 10/7/1984 Forward
7 Havilder Thupstan Tsering Ladakh Scouts Regiment 6/1/1979 Forward
8 Havilder Tsewang Dorjay Ladakh Scouts Regiment 5/18/1970 Defense
9 Havilder Tsewang Phunchok Ladakh Scouts Regiment 1/5/1983 Defense
10 Konchok Rabgais Indo Tibetan Border Police 3/1/1977 Defense
11 Lobzang Tsewang J & K (Blue) 1/23/1973 Defense
12 Manzoor Hussain Kargil Ice & Snow Sports Club 11/4/1977 Forward
13 Mohd. Ajaz Giri J & K (Blue) 8/28/1985 Forward
14 Mohd. Iqbal Kargil Ice & Snow Sports Club 5/13/1984 Forward
15 Mushtaque Ahmed Giri J & K (Blue) 4/28/1990 Forward
16 Naik Sonam Gurmat Ladakh Scouts Regiment 12/22/1980 Goal Keeper
17 Phunchok Wantak J & K (Blue) 5/1/1973 Goal Keeper
18 Ponchok Namgail Indo Tibetan Border Police 7/15/1977 Forward
19 Rigzen Samdup Ex Servicemen League 5/3/1985 Defense
20 Skarma Tashi Indo Tibetan Border Police 7/30/1977 Forward
21 Sonam Gyaltso Ex Servicemen League 7/3/1990 Forward
22 Sonam Paldan Indo Tibetan Border Police 6/13/1968 Goal Keeper
23 Tsering Dorjey J & K (Blue) 1/1/1975 Forward
24 Tsering Dorjey Sangay J & K (Blue) 7/3/1973 Forward
25 Tsewang Namgail Indo Tibetan Border Police 6/3/1976 Defense
26 Tundup Namgyal J & K (Blue) 2/13/1975 Defense

Namgail Tundup who will lead the team feels that this exposure will give a major boost to the sport. "There is a lot of support needed from the government. We need to have many more ice-hockey rinks in the country," he says.

The team was picked from the leading national team of the Indian army, Ladakh scouts regiment, Kargil, J&K, ITBP and ex-servicemen league. India will face its first opponent- Thailand on day one. Other teams that will participate in the event are Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Macau, Mongolia and Thailand.

Adam Craig Sherlip, consultant coach of the team, believes that the team will perform well in the event. "The potential of the team is great. Though there is a vast gap between the understanding of the game, but I am sure the team will put up a challenging show. There is a lot of infrastructural support needed from the government," he says.

The government is now investing in ice-hockey rinks all over the country with the first one coming up in Dehradun by May this year.

India has been an IIHF member since 1989 and the country’s Winter Games Federation was founded ten years earlier.

The majority of hockey games were played by ice skating clubs, in Kashmir, in Shimla in the Himalayan Mountains, and by the team from Ladakh in Leh, close to the border of Tibet. There, the national championships took place at a demanding altitude of 3,484 metres.

Currently, India has seven teams that played the national championship in January at the Karzoo Ice Rink in Leh. The title was won by the Ladakh Scouts in front of about 4000 fans. Ladakh beat the Indo-Tibetan Border Police in a shootout in the semi-finals with a temperature of -14°C at the outdoor rink. They also celebrated a shootout win in the final game against Jammu & Kashmir Blue.

Akshay Kumar, the General Secretary of the Ice Hockey Association of India, spoke about the construction of the first Olympic-size indoor rink in Dehradun.

After the performance in the league, an Indian national team was formed for the first time with 20 players aged 19 to 40.

The 2009 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia will take place at the Zayed Sports City Ice Rink in Abu Dhabi. India, Malaysia, Mongolia and Thailand are in Group A. Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates will play in Group B.

The first edition of the tournament was held in Hong Kong last year with six nations and was won by Chinese Taipei. The tournament gives an event for Asian countries that do not take part in the World Championship program.

Besides India, Mongolia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates are participating for the first time in the tournament. The Emirates hosted the inaugural Arab Cup last year at the same venue which was won by the UAE team thanks to victories against Algeria, Kuwait and Morocco.

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That's good news. I hope India wins something.