Ice Hockey in India

[Karsten]

Ice Hockey in India

It took me a while to compile the information needed for this briefing, but I think it was worthwhile...

It may come as no surprise that hockey in India is very underdeveloped. And you have to go to a very remote area to watch it. Leh, far up in the Himalayas to be exactly.

India basically has two organized hockey clubs, namely Ladakh Winter Sports Club, situated in Leh in the Ladakh district, and Shimla Ice Skating Club in the Himachal Pradesh region.

Shimla Ice Skating Club has existed since 1920 when an open air rink was created. To my knowledge, playing organized hockey is far more recent. Besides, since there's only 10 days when it's cold enough to produce ice in Simla, it is limited how much hockey can actually be played. Nevertheless, the IIHF considers Shimla Ice Skating Club as a hockey club, and it has recently donated 42 pair of skates and 30 hockey sticks (+ a hockey video so the club members can actually get a sense of how hockey is played :claphands, source: Department of Public Relation, Himachal Pradesh).

Ladakh Winter Sports Club is considered the first real hockey club in India. It was established in 1995 by a group of local hockey fans (some sort of hockey has been played in Ladakh for more than 30 years).Most of the players were gathered from the Army teams who plays hockey in the Winter (there is a large contigent of Indian soldiers in J&K, bordering Pakistan and Tibet). The club couldn't afford any equipment, but the locals improvised and made hockey sticks and pucks carved out of army ammo boot heels and using handmade blades screwed to the soles of heavy army boots. The skates were provided to them by tourists. In 2002, the NHL Player Association stepped in and equipped the team with 50 sets of hockey equipment.

Ladakh Winter Sports Club organizes the National Ice Hockey Championship. It has taken place three times since 2001 - every time in the last week of January - and its a big local event (about 3,000 spectators). The tournament takes place at Leh Karzoo Ice Hockey Rink, an open air ice rink (India doesn't have any indoor rinks) which is situated no less than 3,474 m (11,500 feet) above the sea level. The games last 2x20 min, and this is very demanding at this altitude. As the team captain of Shimla Ice Skating Club said after his team was beaten 8-1 by the local B-team a couple of years ago: "We can't breathe in this thin air". :claphands

The only team from outside the J&K province that participate in the tournaments is the Sacred Bulls from Delhi. The Sacred Bulls often won the CM Cup (see below) in the early years - no wonder since the team consist of Canadian and American diplomates and businessmen from Delhi - to be specific: 8 older guys in the range of 35-50 years. The Sacred Bulls has also represented India in international tournaments. With 8 veteran players, basically only one line, you can imagine that this doesn't happen very often, and when it does, it is very, very low key. However, it is only a matter of time before the Ladakhi players start to represent India at the international level. To be honest, I don't know whether the Sacred Bulls exists any more. Moreover, I am not sure whether it has been allowed to play in the national championships or only the CM Cup.

Picture from the Leh Karzoo Ice Hockey Rink (can't hotlink since its copyrighted).

In gross total, 14 teams participated in this year's national tournament. 7 teams in the men's section, 3 teams in the women's section and 4 in the sub-junior section. The tournaments have a knock-out format and they end within a week (2 games daily).

The 3rd national tournament opened on 24 Jan 2005 when theJammu and Kashmir Blue (an army team) took on the Indo-Tibetan Border Police in the opening game. In the end, the Army Red won the men's championship after beating J&K Blue 2-0 in the final. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police won the bronze medal. The women's section was won by J&K Pink (yes, another army team) after defeating the Ex-Servicemen (etc. etc) 3-1 in the final.

http://webjk.nic.in/newsline/news_item.asp?NewsID=5770 (news link)
(Here is some sort of report.

The National Championship is not the only ice hockey tournament that takes place in India (read: Leh). The Chief Minister's Ice Hockey Cup tournament has been played since 1998 (6 times). The number of teams participating is roughly the same which makes sense since the tournament is played shortly before the national championship. Apart from the trophy the winner claims a Rs 30,000 cash prize (RS 20,000 for the runners up).
This year, the Army Red won the cup after beating Rimo Club 3-2 in the final. Army Red also won the Cup last year after beating the Sputnik Sports Club 7-1 in the final. 12 teams participated this year, incl. 3 womens teams.
Report: http://webjk.nic.in/newsline/news_item.asp?NewsID=2900


Pictures from this year's CM Ice Hockey Cup Tournament


ALL IN ALL, the outlook for Indian ice hockey is pretty good. Indian Ice hockey get increased support from abroad and there is a keen interest from the local authorities to lift the sport. During the National Championship in January 2004, the local governor said that he would look for funding to create an international ice hockey rink in Leh. I don't know the status of this project, but the interest is certainly there.

Last word: I have actually watched a game from the CM Cup tournament. I think it was on Indian television. I must admit, that I have never - repeat never - in my life watched a game that was so slow. But still, it was fun to watch. :003:
------


Take a look at these breathtaking pictures from Leh.

[Davide]

Wow Dancan, wonderful article!!!

Can you tell us something also about Mongolian hockey and others countries indicated in thread?

[rowan]

Haloo Duncan thanks!!!!!!!
COuld you help em with teh logo's of teh clubs and or federation?


EDIT: No need to quote my long entry, so I have removed it (Dancan)

[Karsten]

Rowan, have you ever been to Leh? How do you think the internet connections are at such a remote place? :003: :002:

No, you wont be able to find any team logos or any further club info. However, I may be able to help you with the logo of the federation. I think I have seen it somewhere.

BTW., I found another article from yahoo.india which underlines my point, that ice hockey in India, how small the sport may be, is in a growth mode after all.

Yahoo India, 5 January 2005, Ice hockey emerging as a major sport in J and K

[Toni]

Rowan, have you ever been to Leh? How do you think the internet connections are at such a remote place? :003: :002:

Internet connections in Leh are quite slow. It's enough to transfer/read text but you'll get old if you want to send/receive images. :sleeping:

[Karsten]

Internet connections in Leh are quite slow. It's enough to transfer/read text but you'll get old if you want to send/receive images. :sleeping:

Exactly! Add to this the costs of running a website (incl the labour costs). Leh is a very poor community.
Besides, many federations don't have a website. Even Luxembourg (one of the richest countries in the world) doesn't have a unique website.

[rowan]

Haool Duncan,

Hopefully could you remember where you saw the loog of India.
KVS Compagny built an icerink in New Delhi 2005. The Icehockey Association
are intresting only in the Capital icehockey.



Gwf

Rowan, have you ever been to Leh? How do you think the internet connections are at such a remote place? :003: :002:

No, you wont be able to find any team logos or any further club info. However, I may be able to help you with the logo of the federation. I think I have seen it somewhere.

BTW., I found another article from yahoo.india which underlines my point, that ice hockey in India, how small the sport may be, is in a growth mode after all.

Yahoo India, 5 January 2005, Ice hockey emerging as a major sport in J and K

[Karsten]

Haool Duncan,

Hopefully could you remember where you saw the loog of India.
KVS Compagny built an icerink in New Delhi 2005. The Icehockey Association
are intresting only in the Capital icehockey.

Rowan, if you are so keen on obtaining those hard to get logos, why don't you go to the primary source? Send The Ice Hockey Association of India and email, and kindly ask for it. I am pretty sure you will get a reply:

adventure@vsal.com
akshay@himalayanadventure.com

There are no ice rinks in Delhi -- India only has the two I have mentioned -- but it is true that not one, but two rinks are being constructed in New Delhi. This is not to say, as you claim, that the federation is only interested in developing ice hockey in the Delhi area. The federation still fully support an expansion of hockey in J&K. Here another rink is being constructed in Kargil. I think it is more safe to say that the federation also supports that ice hockey expands to areas outside J&K, and the best place to start is New Delhi since teams from New Delhi (incl. Sacred Bulls) so far have had to travel to Leh to play ice hockey.

[rowan]

I have e-mail many times and also faxed many times not only me but also other persons. No answering at all. In the past 7 years!!!!!!!!!!

[Karsten]

I have e-mail many times and also faxed many times not only me but also other persons. No answering at all. In the past 7 years!!!!!!!!!!

Then forget about the logo. It is not on the internet. :002:

[Davide]

I have e-mail many times and also faxed many times not only me but also other persons. No answering at all. In the past 7 years!!!!!!!!!!

i'm one of those persons!

[hockeyinsider]

There are no ice rinks in Delhi -- India only has the two I have mentioned -- but it is true that not one, but two rinks are being constructed in New Delhi. This is not to say, as you claim, that the federation is only interested in developing ice hockey in the Delhi area. The federation still fully support an expansion of hockey in J&K. Here another rink is being constructed in Kargil. I think it is more safe to say that the federation also supports that ice hockey expands to areas outside J&K, and the best place to start is New Delhi since teams from New Delhi (incl. Sacred Bulls) so far have had to travel to Leh to play ice hockey.

That's almost the exact same message I received from a person associated with India's federation in mid-spring 2004. I haven't received any replies since then and I sent some letters, still no replies.

[Karsten]

That's almost the exact same message I received from a person associated with India's federation in mid-spring 2004. I haven't received any replies since then and I sent some letters, still no replies.

Then, at least, I understand the policy of the Indian Hockey Federation which I have never contacted. I just picked up all the pieces I could find on the net and added a little interpretation. :003:

[hockeyinsider]

Then, at least, I understand the policy of the Indian Hockey Federation which I have never contacted. I just picked up all the pieces I could find on the net and added a little interpretation. :003:

"There are no ice rinks in Delhi -- India only has the two I have mentioned -- but it is true that not one, but two rinks are being constructed in New Delhi."

That was almost exactly the same message the federation person sent me!

Was it you playing dress-up again? :D

[Jazz]

Apparently the availabilty of equipment from China has helped the situation out in India.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/200...spr-trib.htm#4

The availability of inexpensive Chinese skates, ice-hockey sticks and other wintersport gear has come as boon for the ice-skating enthusiasts who have been finding it difficult to pursue the fascinating sport for want of necessary equipment. While the equipment is not manufactured in the country, the one available from Japan, Canada and European countries was very expensive and thus beyond the reach of the sportspersons. For instance a pair of ice skates from these countries costs Rs 6000 to Rs 7000. Similarly, the cost of ice hockey sticks ranged between Rs 3500 to Rs 4500 and that of protective gear about Rs 10,000. The entire sports gear costs around Rs 22,000 which the average sports enthusiast could not afford.

However, the entry of Chinese sports gear has changed the situation. A Chinese pair of ice-skates is available for just Rs 2500 and ice hockey sticks for Rs 1200 to Rs 4000, depending on the quality. The protective gear costs about Rs 2000. The total cost of the Chinese-made winter sport gear comes to just around Rs 10,000.
The Shimla Ice-Skating Club, which manages Asia’s oldest natural ice-skating rink, here, has been finding it difficult to promote the sport because of lack of equipment. Now even some private dealers have started importing the equipment, which augurs well for the sport.

[Jazz]

More information about the sport in Leh (Northern India, in the Himalayas).

http://www.outlookindia.com/diary.as...ame=Daniel+Lak

..Two years ago, an official of the Indian winter games federation applied for a visa to go to Canada, explaining that he wanted to see some ice-hockey in the place where the game was invented. An astute Canadian visa officer—ever vigilant—called the man up and asked for more details. "Oh yes," he was told, "We play ice hockey in India. In fact, if you’re not doing anything in January, why not bring some players to the national tournament in Ladakh. It’ll be a bit cold, but you’ll love it." The visa officer, a former junior star in Canada, packed his skates and pads, threw in some tins of Molson Canadian beer and led his fellow players to Leh where they quickly became local heroes.....
When the Bulls take to the ice rink in Leh, they’re greeted by a strange cheer. The Canadians do their pre-game warm-ups to shouts of "Aiwa, Aiwa". Even when they wander the bazaars and backstreets of old Leh, it’s as if they’re in an advertisement for Japanese hi-fi equipment. It seems, the chants began with one of last year’s players—now sadly departed. He was the team clown, the man who lifted spirits with antics, rather than game skills. When he was on the ice, he tried to warm up the crowd by shouting "Julay", the Tibetan greeting. Puzzled Ladakhis apparently exchanged glances before some youngsters figured out what they thought he was saying. "Aiwa, Aiwa," they bellowed back...

I would love to hear an update on this.

the Himachal government is asking Delhi to build an indoor artificial ice rink in Simla, so the sport can develop. So too in Leh, the Hill Council wants a sarkari skating rink for local players to hone their skills.

This story is almost 4 years old, so who knows what may have happened by now...

Also: http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/02feb23/sports.htm#6
Brief History: First introduced by an army Major about 1968 Ice hockey matches were held between soldiers of Ladakh Scouts and Sikh Regiment at in Indo-Chinese border area of Tangtse in eastern Ladakh. And regular tournaments between civil and army teams started in 1978. A group called Ladakh Ice Skating Club thus formed in 1982 carried the torch further. Karzoo Zing, a water reservoir for irrigation purpose in Leh town is since then being used as the Ice hockey rink during winter. However, its highly gained popularity remained restricted in Ladakh. And during the disturbed phase in J&K in the last decade the game had become almost obsolete. Aspiring local teams of skaters somehow kept this winter sport alive on their own in the absence of any facility. Ladakh Winter Sports Club (LWSC), a group of senior skaters essentially took the pain to organize Inter Clubs and Chief Minister Cup every year.

Finally, in 2003, the NHLPA helped out by donating 50 sets of hockey gear:
http://www.nhlpa.com/GoalsAndDreams/...ils.asp?ID=283

[rowan]

Thank you for the articles about icehockey in India!
:)
Who knows when the season stared with the cup and national league?

[takharov]

Nice to know that ice hockey is played in India my country of distant ancestry. I dont think it will ever become a major sport as such but the skills are there as in field hockey.

Perhaps a few more rinks could be built in the major metropolises ie Mumbai Kolkata.And what about using dual nationals from Canada.They are quite a few Indian origin players playin in the junior leagues or city leagues in Alberta & BC.

India is driving forward with reforms in all sports gymnastics rugby football aside from cricket in preperation for the Commonwealth Games & a future Olympics bid & hopefully ice hockey gets carried along on the bandwagon. :)

[Shardik]

Perhaps a few more rinks could be built in the major metropolises ie Mumbai Kolkata.And what about using dual nationals from Canada.They are quite a few Indian origin players playin in the junior leagues or city leagues in Alberta & BC.

One American too. Aniket Dhadphale is currently playing for Sport Vaasa in Finnish Mestis. He is the team's best goal scorer with 17 goals in 32 games. His nick name is "Super Nik from India" :003:

[takharov]

Hi Shardik !
Thats very interesting to hear .Of course everyone has heard of Manny Malhotra in the NHL a Ontarian native.

What sort of player is Aniket ? Is he a power or finesse forward ? And with his sucess in the Mestis any chance he might secure a roster spot with one of the SML teams ?

And I would like to know how he was recruited.Has he grown up in Finland or somewhere else ie the US/Canada & was brought over from there ? Cheers for that info. :023:

I have 2 cousins natives of Calgary who played junior hockey but never quite made the step up to collegiate hockey.Lucky things !! Needless to say they are mad Flamers on the Red Mile. :)

[Shardik]

Here is some info on Dhadphale (taken from jatkoaika.com, a Finnish hockey web site)

Aniket Dhadphale
Born 26.4.1976, Ann Arbor, Michigan
191 cm, 95kg
10th round draft pick by San Jose in 1994 (#245)

Season Team League GP G+A=PTS PIM
1997-98 Notre Dame NCAA 41 25 + 10 = 35 34 min
1998-99 Notre Dame NCAA 34 18 + 11 = 29 55 min
1999-00 Roanoke Experss ECHL 15 9 + 5 = 14 8 min
Greensboro Generals ECHL 51 18 + 17 = 35 50 min
2000-01 Trenton Titans ECHL 68 30 + 35 = 65 79 min
2001-02 Macon Whoopee ECHL 11 2 + 3 = 5 14 min
Providence Bruins AHL 3 1 + 0 = 1 2 min
Trenton Titans ECHL 53 19 + 26 = 45 21 min
2002-03 Landshut EV 2. Bundesleague 49 13 + 24 = 37 48 min
2003-04 Fassa HC Serie A 37 17 + 27 = 44 16 min
2004-05 Sport Mestis 34 12 + 8 = 20 53 min
Sport Mestis playoffs 11 1 + 2 = 3 16 min
2005-06 Sport Mestis 32 17 + 9 = 26 38 min

Dhadphale came to Sport for a try-out and through last season he made himself an important player for the team. He is a power forward. Good in front of the goal but doesn't get a lot of penalties. Surprisingly good puck handling skills. Not afraid to fight if needed. Fast and strong skater but has trouble with turning and accelerating. Because he was brought up with college hockey he knows the bigger ice surface.

Jatkoaika.com chose Dhadphale to be the player of the month in December this season:023: He won't be leaving Sport this season, that's for sure (transfer window closed) but if he keeps improving and playing well he has a chance for SM-Liiga or some other top European league in the future.

I hope this answered your questions, takharov.

[takharov]

Hi Shardik :)
Many many thanks for the information you kindly provided with regards to Dhadphale.

Seems he prefers the larger ices of Europe ! The guy mustb have had something to be drafted 246 but obviously didnt click.I guess he wont be playing for India at his age but that remains something to be looked at should India in the future progress in hockey(ice) say another 40-50 years

I guess taking dual nationals would be a part of that process seeing as many countries do this before having wholly indigenous squads ie Germany as an old example Hungary as a current example.

Thanks again for your time & should you spot anything else or report on ANiket at the end of the Mestis season I'd be much obliged.

Take care now ! :)

[Jazz]

Nice to know that ice hockey is played in India my country of distant ancestry. I dont think it will ever become a major sport as such but the skills are there as in field hockey.

Perhaps a few more rinks could be built in the major metropolises ie Mumbai Kolkata.And what about using dual nationals from Canada.They are quite a few Indian origin players playin in the junior leagues or city leagues in Alberta & BC.

India is driving forward with reforms in all sports gymnastics rugby football aside from cricket in preperation for the Commonwealth Games & a future Olympics bid & hopefully ice hockey gets carried along on the bandwagon. :)

Here is what I would do. Start from the north and move south.

The state immediately south of Jammu and Kashmir (where Ladakh is) is the Punjab. Now, due to a demographic quirk, there are a lot of people with Punjabi ancestry around the world, but in terms of overall numbers, Canada has the highest number of them.

Now, since the Punjab is a relatively small state area wise, and that there are a lot of NRI (non-resident-Indians) who travel back to India almost every year, the majority of them who are coming from Canada would have been exposed to the game, and these might help keep ice-rinks occupied in the bigger cities of the state (such as Jalandhar, Chandigargh, Hoshiapur etc). With these NRIs going for the occasional skate or pick-up game, they would introduce their Punjabi resident family and friends to the game, and from there they could work to get things started.

[takharov]

Now, since the Punjab is a relatively small state area wise, and that there are a lot of NRI (non-resident-Indians) who travel back to India almost every year, the majority of them who are coming from Canada would have been exposed to the game, and these might help keep ice-rinks occupied in the bigger cities of the state (such as Jalandhar, Chandigargh, Hoshiapur etc). With these NRIs going for the occasional skate or pick-up game, they would introduce their Punjabi resident family and friends to the game, and from there they could work to get things started.

I like this idea very much Jazz ! We're pretty good indeed at one time virtually the whole India field hockey team were 'drafted' from Punjab. :003:

The whole area is surging forward with a wealth of new facilities .I dont think a ice rink would be impossible to finance or keep in use.All it would take as it has done in many countries is a small but dedicated group of people who have the passion for the game.

And as you say from there get kids involved with the rudiments of the game.And hockey equipment from China as in the article is cheaper so a grant here or there wouldnt go amiss.

It was so with cricket once in the Parsi community in Bombay. It wouldnt matter that just 2 areas of the nation are the only ones playing the game

With regards to rugby until recently it was confined to a few public schools in Kolkata & Mumbai.But a recent junior tournament a multitude of teams descended upon Bangalore from all parts of the country.And thats in under 5 years of serious attempts to promote rugby union !!

I guess what might also make a difference is if a Punjabi could make the grade say in the NHL & be asked to come over & promote the game get kids interested that way.And there are quite a few playing as I said in the city leagues. :)

[Davide]

An article about ice hockey in India found in Malaysian site:

https://klcobras.wordpress.com/files...-in-ladakh.pdf

[Tabacman]

There is a documentary about some woman in Ladakh and the efforts they made to create a team and to participate in one of the tournaments held in Leh. To build the team they have to go to the muslim villages over the pass to find enough players. The documentary shows the difficulties they have to get the right from the male organizers to compete in the tournament. They couldn´t understand why women should play icehockey. The name of the documentary is "Tunn is" (Thin ice) and is shown on Swedish televison SVT 1 on thursday 8th of march.
Article about the documentary here

There may be future for Indian icehockey. At least the on the woman side. Becasue two of the girls in the documentary have been to Sweden and participated in a hockeycamp were some of the girls from the national team was too.
Here is a short feature of it

I also remember that i have read somewhere, probably at one of the NGO´s supporting Ladakh that the Swedish Elitserien team Djurgården have supported the Ladakhi hockey with equipment.

[Karsten]

"Forget Canada. Forget Gretzky and Lemieux.
Real ice hockey is played by women – in India.
Against all odds."

More on the movie Tabacman refers to:

Review from Swedish Films #9 2006: "Against All Odds", by Henrik Emilson

YOU KNOW IT’S pretty cold when you need one of the best sleeping bags money can buy, a pair of thermal gloves to read your book, and when the water in your toothbrush mug freezes over – indoors. Welcome to Ladakh: an isolated province in the Indian Himalayas. Filmmaker Håkan Berthas spent the winter of 2005/2006 documenting the highly unlikely story of how ice hockey came to Ladakh, where conditions actually turned out to be ideal for the sport. “Anyone who ever put on a pair of skates and who looked out on those enormous frozen lakes would know just how perfect they are.” As it happens, ice hockey has turned out to be hugely popular in Ladakh. “It’s a desert area. There are no natural fuels, so they don’t heat up their houses. When it’s cold indoors, it’s better to be in the sunshine outdoors. And that’s when it’s perfect to play hockey.” By tradition, the sport has been dominated by menand boys. But during the 2004 national championships, agroup of girls caused uproar by insisting on playing in thecompetition too. The whole thing was caught on camera byan amateur Swedish filmmaker. Word reached Håkan Berthas,fresh from his success with the documentary Nabila,and on the lookout for his next project. As a former icehockey player himself, he was completely taken with thisstory of the girls who challenged the status quo.The upshot is a classic Rocky-style underdog tale of sportand equality.“Just like Nabila it’s about girl power. People must thinkI’m some kind of super feminist,” Håkan Berthas quips.The director was helped in his task by a fortunate seriesof events. By chance, a female American backpacker andformer ice hockey player had turned up at the school inLadakh, where the girls were studying. She agreed tobecome their coach. There’s also some topical religiousinterest in the fi lm when the Buddhist girls need a few moreplayers for the team and turn to a neighbouring school inKargil, where the girls are Muslims. That was when HåkanBerthas managed to stage something of a mini revolution.“I joined in a little ice hockey myself in front of the mullahs,and managed to get them to agree that the girls couldplay wearing trousers!” Written by: HENRIK EMILSON "Against all Odds" in Swedish Film # 9 2006.

[Karsten]

Two of the ice girls, Stanzin Dolkar and Thinlas Cholroi were in Denmark two weeks ago in connection with Gloria's , a cinema, showing of the movie. The girls also visited IC Gentofte, the 1 Division club which has collected more than $1,000 to build a new arena for the Himalayan girls. According to IGC's homepage, the amount is in fact enough to build a new arena.

[Tokyo Bucks]

Wow, sounds great! Really good to see grassroots movements like this in non-traditional places (but sounds like Ladakh has an ideal environment!)

[Shomit]

I am interested in finding out more about ice hockey in India. I am Bengali and coaching college hockey in the US. It interests me to find out more about my heritage and the ice hockey being played there.

[Da Silva]

Ok guys I have a friend who went to India for 2 months and has come back and he sent me
this Pic of India Ice Hockey Association Logo.

[rowan]

This is an pin who was maked in the 80 ties. Some people say it is not the correct logo becasue some people from Czechslovakia make them to sell it. In the 80 ties it was very pupulaire to buy those pins. They came mostly from East Europe who wants to make money.

Greetings,
Rowan

[kunzang]

This is Kunzang from Ladakh India and someone who is associated with Hockey in Ladakh. Ask me if you need any info..

[Jazz]

This is Kunzang from Ladakh India and someone who is associated with Hockey in Ladakh. Ask me if you need any info..

Kaise ho bhai?

In my next trip to India, I am going to try and make it up to Ladakh!

Yes, please tell us if there has been any news on any sort of ice-rink being planned/constructed to give the local players a regular place to practice and play?

How did you get introduced to this sport, and how did you find this site??

[fan75]

I found this article from back in May. It looks like their could be a rink on the horizon.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/2077028.cms

The federation in India and those associated with the game are hopeful that things will start improving once the SAF Winter Games are held in Uttaranchal. There are also plans that an ice hockey rink will be set up in Dehradun. “We're still exploring the idea,” says Surendra Singh Pangtey, president, Winter Games Federation of India. “The plans are on to build a short track speed skating rink, where ice hockey can also be played. The estimated cost will be about Rs 60 lakhs. We're trying to get the latest technology and if everything goes as per the plan, by 2009 we'll have a rink in Dehradun,” he adds.