Women ice hockey team return to warm welcome

Our Correspondent

Leh, March 20

The local government of Leh district, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) and several social and religious organisations gave a rousing reception to the national ice hockey women team at the Leh airport on their arrival from Delhi on Sunday.

The 20-member team represented India at the recently concluded International Ice Hockey Federation’s Women Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia in Bangkok, Thailand.

The tournament was organised by the International Ice Hockey Federation and it was introduced in 2010 to provide competitive opportunities among the Asian nations.

It was the second time that a team of ice hockey players from Ladakh was selected to represent the country in an international event.

During the event, the Indian team had shown a lot of improvement in their performance. They recorded their first international win by defeating Philippines and Malaysia by 4-3 and 5-4, respectively.

The Indian team played six matches during the tournament, vice-president of the Ladakh Women Ice Hockey Foundation, Kunzes Dolma said. With the improvement in performance, India finished fourth in the tournament.

Seven countries, namely New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, United Arab Emirates and India, had participated in the event.

After the reception, chief executive councillor of the LAHDC Sonam Dawa Lonpo said despite all hardships like lack of training facility and funds, the national team made the people of Ladakh and the country proud by performing well at the international event in their second attempt. He said the LAHDC was planning to construct an ice hockey rink at every block in the district.