The women’s national ice hockey team comprising players from Ladakh will take part in the International Ice Hockey Federation Challenge Cup to be held at Taipei, Taiwan, from March 22 to 26.
All the players of the team and the coach have been selected from Ladakh and most of them are from remote villages of the region located near the Line of Actual Control N Gyalpo, vice-president, Ladakh Winter Club, said, “A total of 28 players from various village ice hockey clubs have been selected last month for the national team by the Ice Hockey Association of India.”
However, only 18 players were able to go for advance coaching being provided by the Ice Hockey Association of India. Six could not attend the coaching as they did not have passports and have applied for the same, while four could not go to Delhi due to financial constraints and clash of the schedule of the event with their examination.
The players have been asked to contribute Rs 15,000 each towards their expenses incurred during the event.
Meanwhile, Sonam Wangchuk, founder of SECMOL, whose players are also selected for the national team, alleged that due to delay in providing information about the event to the players, some of them could not join as they did not have passports.
Wangchuk said players from remote areas chose not to go as Rs 15,000 contribution from them towards their expenses would put financial burden on them. ”However, the SECMOL has launched a crowd funding to provide financial support to the players and to buy sports equipment for them,” he added.
Ladakhi women to represent country in ice hockey
