Ice hockey in India

Last updated

Ice hockey in India
First ever Khelo India Winter Games.jpg
Ice hockey players at the inauguration of the Khelo India Winter Games in 2020
CountryIndia
Governing body Ice Hockey Association of India
National team(s) Men
Women
First played1989 [1]
National competitions

Ice hockey is a sport that is gaining popularity in India. [2] [3] Ice hockey is played mostly in places like Ladakh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in the north of India, where cold weather occurs and the game can be played outdoors. [4] 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 elevated rinks in the world. There are a few artificial indoor ice skating rinks in the rest of the country, such as the Doon Ice Rink in Dehradun, [5] which can accommodate ice hockey with an international-sized rink.

Contents

Ice Hockey was part of the 2020 Khelo India Winter Games in Gulmarg. [6]

Ladakh is host to the world's highest altitude ice hockey tournament. [7]

About

Ice Hockey in India is monitored by the Indian Ice Hockey Association. The India national ice hockey team has been competing at the international level since 2009 [8] with head coach Adam Sherlip behind the bench during the tournament in Abu Dhabi. Adam also coached in Ladakh through The Hockey Foundation. [9] India won the 2nd position in IIHF men Challenge Cup of Asia Div 1 at Kuwait and Women's team secured the 3th position at Abu Dhabi. [10]

Clubs

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. [11] The present clubs affiliated to the IHAI are: [12] [13]

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 Association of India to encourage greater participation and awareness in the sport. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice hockey</span> Team winter sport

Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and shoot a closed, vulcanized rubber disc called a "puck" into the other team's goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team which scores the most goals is declared the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, one of whom is the goaltender. Ice hockey is a full contact sport, and is considered to be one of the more physically demanding team sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indo-Tibetan Border Police</span> Indian border guard for the Indo-Tibetan border

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a paramilitary border guarding force of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shimla</span> Capital of Himachal Pradesh, India

Shimla is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city became the capital of East Punjab and was later made the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. It is the principal commercial, cultural and educational centre of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Skating Rink</span> Former indoor ice skating rink in Montreal

The Victoria Skating Rink was an indoor ice skating rink located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened in 1862, it was described at the start of the twentieth century to be "one of the finest covered rinks in the world". The building was used during winter seasons for pleasure skating, ice hockey and skating sports on a natural ice rink. In summer months, the building was used for various events, including musical performances and horticultural shows. It was the first building in Canada to be electrified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India men's national ice hockey team</span> National team representing India in ice hockey

The India national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of India. They are controlled by the Ice Hockey Association of India and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). India is currently not ranked in the IIHF World Ranking and has not entered in any World Championship tournaments or at the Olympic Games, but they have only participated in the Challenge Cup of Asia, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in Asia.

Chushul is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Durbuk tehsil, in the area known as "Chushul Valley", south of the Pangong Lake and west of the Spanggur Lake. The Line of Actual Control with China runs about 5 miles east of Chushul, across the Chushul Valley. Famous as site for historical battle grounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First indoor ice hockey game</span> 1875 ice hockey game in Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal

On March 3, 1875, the first recorded indoor ice hockey game took place at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Quebec. Organized by James Creighton, who captained one of the teams, the game was between two nine-member teams, using a rubber "puck". Members used skates and sticks used for outdoor hockey and shinny games in Nova Scotia, where Creighton was born and raised. It is recognized as the first organized ice hockey game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice Hockey Association of India</span>

The Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) is the governing body of ice hockey in India. It is responsible for overseeing ice hockey in India. It became a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on April 27, 1989. The current president of the Association is Dr. Surinder Mohan Bali.

Adam Craig Sherlip is the first head coach of the India men's national ice hockey team, which competed in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia, hosted by Abu Dhabi, UAE, in 2009 and in Dehradun, India in 2012, the location of India's first ice arena. It was in the 2012 tournament, with Sherlip as coach, that India won its first international ice hockey game. He started coaching ice hockey in India as part of an initiative he started, called "The Hockey Volunteer".

<i>Breakaway</i> (2011 film) 2011 Canadian film

Breakaway is a 2011 Canadian English-language sports-comedy film directed by Robert Lieberman, and produced by Akshay Kumar and Paul Gross. The film stars Vinay Virmani in his debut performance opposite Camilla Belle, with Rob Lowe, Russell Peters and Anupam Kher in pivotal roles. It also features Akshay Kumar, Drake and Ludacris in cameo roles. In addition, this was the last film directed by Lieberman before his death in July 2023. The film also contains songs in Hindi and Punjabi.

The Indian Ice Hockey Championship is the national ice hockey championship in India, organised by the Ice Hockey Association of India.

Ice skating is popular in North India in places like Ladakh, Kashmir and Shimla where cold weather occurs and it is possible to skate outdoors. Much of India has a tropical climate, hence in the rest of the country, ice skating is limited to the few artificial rinks available. An ice skating festival is organised in Shimla every year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice hockey by country</span>

The International Ice Hockey Federation has 76 members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran men's national ice hockey team</span> Mens national ice hockey team representing Iran

The Iran national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Iran. The team was founded in June 2016, is controlled by the Islamic Republic of Iran Skating Federation, and on 26 September 2019, became an associate member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Iran made its debut in the IIHF World Championship in 2022. As of 2022, Iran is ranked 56th in the IIHF World Ranking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippines men's national ice hockey team</span>

The Philippines national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the Philippines. They are controlled by the Federation of Ice Hockey League (FIHL) and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since May 20, 2016. Prior to that period, a national team has played in regional tournaments in Hong Kong since the 2000s.

<i>Gold</i> (2018 film) 2018 Indian film

Gold: The Dream That United Our Nation, or simply Gold, is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language period sports film written and directed by Reema Kagti and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. The film stars an ensemble cast of Akshay Kumar, Mouni Roy, Amit Sadh, Kunal Kapoor, Vineet Kumar Singh, Sunny Kaushal and Nikita Dutta.

Ice hockey in the Philippines is a minor but emerging sport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Jammu and Kashmir</span> Overview of sports traditions and activities

Popular sports in Jammu and Kashmir include cricket, football and winter sports along with sports like golf, water sports, Ice stock sport and adventure sports. The National Winter Games have been held in Gulmarg in 1996, 2004 and 2009. The first Khelo India Winter Games were held in February and March 2020 in Leh and Gulmarg. Jammu and Kashmir won the most gold medals while the Indian Army team came second with 8 gold medals. The second edition of the winter games were also held successfully in Gulmarg in 2020 with Jammu and Kashmir coming first and Karnataka second.

The Ice Skating Association of India (ISAI) is the national governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating in India. The ISAI is affiliated to the International Skating Union, and the Asian Skating Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khelo India Winter Games</span> Annual national winter games of India

Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) are the national level multidisciplinary grassroot winter games of India. Events include skiing, alpine skiing, nordic skiing, snow rugby, Ice stock sport, snow baseball, mountaineering, snowshoe running, ice hockey, figure skating and speed skating. It was decided to hold the first Khelo India Winter Games in 2020 after the success of multiple editions of the Khelo India Youth Games.

References

  1. "Ice Hockey in India".
  2. Horstmann, Jakob (21 February 2013). "Playing ice hockey in the Indian Himalayas". The Guardian.
  3. "Breaking the ice: Story of India's ice hockey team is stuff movies are made of". Indianexpress.com. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  4. "On Thin Ice: India's National Ice Hockey Team". Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  5. "First ice arena for India". www.iihf.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  6. "Ice Hockey, Ice Skating held during Khelo India Winter Games". Greater Kashmir. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  7. "Ladakh hosts World's highest altitude women's ice hockey tournament". The Bridge. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  8. Tiwari, Mansi. "All eyes on Ice Hockey Team". The Economic Times. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  9. "#HowHockeyHelps". Hockeyfoundation.org. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  10. "Home". icehockeyindia.com.
  11. "Ice Hockey in India". Forums.internationalhockey.net. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  12. "Members & Associates - Ice Hockey Association of India". Icehockeyindia.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  13. "Teams". Icehockeyindia.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  14. "Why Leh has warmed up to ice-hockey - Times of India". The Times of India .
  15. "India ice hockey: National team crowd-funding bid successful". BBC News. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  16. "Director Ice Hockey Association of India Akshay Kumar | DNA". Dnaindia.com. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  17. "Breaking the ice: Story of India's ice hockey team is stuff movies are made of". The Indian Express . 21 April 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  18. "Akshay Kumar donates Rs 2cr for ice hockey | Bollywood.com News". Bollywood.com. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  19. "Schwartz: Ex-Islanders Employee Helps Grow Hockey In India". Newyork.cbslocal.com. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.