Ice hockey in India

Ice hockey in India
Ice hockey players at the inauguration of the Khelo India Winter Games in 2020
CountryIndia
Governing bodyIce 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.

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]

  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.