Ice hockey in India


Ice hockey is a sport that is gaining popularity in India. Ice hockey is played mostly in places like Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand in the north of India, where cold weather occurs and the game can be played outdoors. There are a few artificial indoor ice skating rinks in the rest of the country, which has a warm tropical climate, including the Doon Ice Rink in Dehradun, which can accommodate ice hockey with an international-sized rink. Ice hockey enthusiasts from other places in the country as well as expatriates from abroad head to places like Ladakh for the experience of playing in some of the highest rinks in the world. It is monitored by the Indian Ice Hockey Federation. India won the 2nd position in IIHF men Challenge Cup of Asia Div 1 at Kuwait and Women's team secured the 4th position at Thailand.
In 2011, an Indo-Canadian film, Speedy Singhs based on an Indian ice hockey team was produced by actor Akshay Kumar, who is a fan of the sport. He also made a contribution to the Ice Hockey Federation of India to encourage greater participation and awareness in the sport.
The India national ice hockey team has been competing at the international level since 2009 with Head Coach Adam Sherlip behind the bench during the tournament in Abu Dhabi, UAE as well as the 2012 tournament hosted by India at the Doon Ice Rink. Adam also coaches ice hockey in Ladakh through The Hockey Foundation
The country's two oldest ice hockey clubs are the Shimla Ice Skating Club, which has existed since 1920 but began playing ice hockey much later, and the Ladakh Winter Sports Club, which was established in 1995. The present clubs affiliated to the IHAI are:
Few more teams present in the Indian ice hockey are:-
Team India - CCOA 2015, Kuwait
Indian Army
J&K
Ladakh Scouts Regiment
J&K
Indo Tibetan Border Police
Kargil Ice and Snow Sports Club
Ex-Servicemen's League
The participation of school children in ice hockey in Ladakh increased after Sonam Wangchuk and his NGO, SECMOL, developed a technique to use school playgrounds as ice hockey rinks.