North Kashmir’s famed ski resort Gulmarg will host a national ice-skating championship from Wednesday, in which 150 players from various states of the country will participate. The organisers say the event will prepare the skaters for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
“The event will prepare the participants for 2018 Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea,” said Ice-Skating Association of India secretary general RK Gupta here today. The five-day event will conclude on January 3, in which a total of 17 teams will take part.
Gulmarg holds winter sports activities regularly at this time of the year. Director Tourism, Kashmir, Mahmood Ahmad Shah said this was for the first time that an exclusive ice-skating event was being held.
“This is the first event dedicated to ice-skating. It was earlier combined with winter sports events,” Shah said. He said the event would be held at the ice-skating rink near Gulmarg Gondola.
Giving details, he said, “There will be three categories in the event — short track speed skating, skating dance and figure skating. It will be the best opportunity for the youth of the state to showcase their talent. It will help in attracting them to such games as we have one of the best ice-skating rinks.”
Even as stakeholders have been complaining of a lean tourist season this year, the Tourism Department will hold a series of events at Gulmarg this winter. Besides a New Year gala, the government is particularly promoting adventure sports activities like heli-skiing at the resort.
Gulmarg to host national ice-skating championship from tomorrow
