India women's ice hockey: They fought ice with fire

Time of India

5 days ago

India women's ice hockey team in action (Image by Tarun Rawat)
It was a rollercoaster game. The lead kept switching sides, like a politician changing parties. The India-UAE women's ice hockey match was deep into overtime with the score poised at 4-4.
That's when Stanzin Dolkar, a 29-year-old constable with Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), took charge of the puck — the carrom-shaped disc used to score goals in the sport — in her own half. Fast and furious, she tore her way ahead on the right, leaving the UAE defender chasing a shadow. The UAE goalie saw her coming but wasn't ready for what followed. Stanzin feigned a shot towards the near post, made a diagonal run, before whipping a sneaky backhand that found the net, giving India its first-ever win over hosts UAE in the 2025 women's Asia Cup.
It was even more thrilling three days later. India and Kyrgyzstan were locked 2-2 after overtime. In the nerve-jangling shootout, 12 attempts — six each by the two sides — were either missed or saved. It was Stanzin time again. The farmer's daughter stepped up and delivered again with another deceptive backhand. 'I asked her to repeat the move,' says Darrin Harold, the team's head coach. That conversion — and goalie Dolma Dorjay's sterling saves — earned India's women's ice hockey team its first-ever international bronze.
Stanzin Dolkar, a 29-year-old constable with Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) (Image by Tarun Rawat)
The medal run was largely ignored by newspapers and television channels but widely celebrated on social media. A congratulatory post by 'The Better India' received over 1,000 reposts on X. International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)'s website exulted, 'India makes its own history.'
The tournament didn't host any of the top Asian teams: Japan (world No.8), Korea (No.19) or Kazakhstan (23). Even the winner (Philippines) is not among the top 46 countries ranked on the IIHF website.
But the magnitude of the achievement is more than what statistics suggest.
This is the story of a bunch of women who learnt their craft on makeshift or borrowed equipment on the frozen lakes of Ladakh, who crowd-funded many of their tours, who broke barriers of entrenched gender bias and yet never stopped either dreaming or believing. 'The bronze medal is a reflection of the incredible dedication shown by these athletes,' says Harold, who comes from Calgary, Canada.
Like cricket and football, ice hockey in India has colonial origins. The first ice skating rink was built by one Mr Blessington, a hotel owner, in Shimla in 1920, a Times of India article noted in 1972. The sport was later patronised by the Army. 'As the units started moving to Ladakh and Siachen, so did the game,' says Harjinder Singh, general secretary, Ice Hockey Association of India. Locals picked up the game by watching the jawans.
They improvised on equipment; sticks were carved out of wood, flat stones placed in shoe polish cans to act as pucks. 'The game in Ladakh is as popular as gully cricket in the plains,' says Singh.
Ice hockey is widely considered the fastest sport on the planet. A marriage of speed and rhythm, strength and skill, it needs courage, too. The region is tailored for the sport. Local tournaments are hosted all through winter, when Ladakh becomes an empire of snow.
Leh, the region's largest city, is the game's ground zero. 'Jan is the peak month of the season,' says defender Diskit Angmo, a post-graduate in English and the team's spokesperson.
Defender Diskit Angmo, a post-graduate in English and the team's spokesperson (Image by Tarun Rawat)
Nineteen of the 20-member team that won the bronze hail from Ladakh, Tanzin Saldon from Himachal Pradesh being the sole exception. 'We don't have to do high-altitude training. Our lungs are bigger than the rest of the country's,' says Stanzin.
The rugged terrain abounds in ponds and lakes. 'During winter, they freeze into natural rinks,' says Tsewang Chuskit, the 31-year-old India captain. She wanted to play the game after watching soldiers play in one such rink in her village.
Tsewang Chuskit (Image by Tarun Rawat)
It helped that winter meant a three-month holiday. 'The teachers who came from Srinagar would go back home. My father had made me a wooden stick and rubber puck. We would play for fun,' she says.
Even a generation ago, ice hockey was a men-only sport in Ladakh. 'We did figure skating, speed skating, both individual sports. Women did not play a team sport like ice hockey,' recalls defender Rigzin Yangdol.
For those who wished to play it competitively, there were other barriers. About two decades ago, some women players were asked to perform a traditional dance before a men's game. They resisted. It was the beginning of change.
That was also the time when even playing gear, donated by foreigners, mostly Canadians, would go to the men's clubs. 'We all learnt to play on borrowed equipment,' says Rigzin, a 29-year-old post-graduate in political science who works in civil defence.
Equipment is fundamental to serious ice hockey. Helmet, neck guard, chest pad, elbow guard, glove, pants, jersey, shin pad, pelvic guard, skates, stick — players must dress up like medieval knights heading into battle.
Even a basic kit amounts to Rs 50,000. Quality international equipment costs over three times more.
But the women kept the faith. And, in 2015, they set up a sorority: the Ladakh Women Ice Hockey Foundation. The association became a space to talk challenges, voice ideas and create space for harnessing young talent.
Poll
What do you think is the biggest challenge for women's ice hockey in India?
Lack of infrastructure
Funding and financial support
Societal acceptance
Finances remained slim, even after the then Union sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal underlined the need for more 'blue turfs', and means to provide financial assistance to Ice Hockey Association of India in response to a Rajya Sabha question in May 2015.
In 2016, India made its international debut in the Asia Women's Challenge Cup in Chinese Taipei. The trip was crowdfunded. Support also came from unlikely sources. Before the tournament, the team trained in Kyrgyzstan. The Indian embassy managed their food and lodging. 'Some players stepped into an artificial rink for the first time. Some players flew out of Ladakh for the first time,' recalls Tsewang, who played in that tournament.
One player even skipped her board exams.
Since then, finances have relatively improved. 'Even now, we pay for domestic travel,' says Diskit. But challenges remain. Absence of a league, for instance. And it cannot happen until infrastructure improves. But there's positive movement.
Last month, aided by Uttarakhand state govt, the upgraded Himadri Ice Rink reopened on the outskirts of Dehradun. With LED lights, bucket seats, solar panels and a capacity of over 2,500, it is India's only artificial, international size (60m x 30m) indoor rink.
'We practised there before leaving for the UAE,' says forward Tashi Dolker.
Another all-weather indoor rink is coming up in Leh. 'It is under construction since 2019 and likely to be ready by Sept. One more is being constructed in Kargil,' said Ali Amir, the women's team's assistant coach.
Ali Amir is the women's team's assistant coach (Image by Tarun Rawat)
But the game is spreading faster than the infrastructure. In the just-concluded nationals, Andhra Pradesh earned a surprise silver in the U18 boys' category.
And Haryana became the first non-Himalayan region team to reach the men's final, where it lost to the Army.
Haryana's lone indoor rink is located in a Gurgaon mall. 'We play between 10pm and 12pm after paying Rs 900 per hour,' says assistant captain Falak Grover. Defender Sneha Yadav travels 30km from the neighbouring Faridabad district for practice. Most players transitioned to ice from inline hockey, played on dry surface using wheeled skates.
The Haryana women's team won two of their four games to finish fourth. 'It is remarkable, considering that they had practiced on ice for only two weeks in Gurgaon before the nationals,' says Nitin Kumar, assistant captain of the men's team.
Ironically, at a time when the game is receiving recognition, new challenges are emerging. In Ladakh, global warming has reduced the playing season from three months to less than two.
'The change has happened dramatically in the past 5-6 years. We have to go to a higher altitude in the eastern part of Ladakh to train. Sometimes, the ice cracks. But thankfully nobody has been hurt so far,' says Diskit.
Over the years, women's participation in the sport has grown. The women's medal triumph has given wings to a new generation's dream. The Khelo Indian Winter Games has also helped promote ice hockey. 'Hundreds of kids are taking up the sport.
With more rinks coming up, you will see major improvements in both men and women in future,' says Amir, a key member of the men's team's historic silver medal triumph at Asia Challenge Cup in 2017.
Adds head coach Harold, 'I've also seen a positive shift, where players are beginning to invest in their own equipment, which signifies a deeper personal commitment to the sport.'
Singh, also an event manager, feels that the winter sports audience is saturated in Europe and the US. He says, 'There's a reason why South Korea and China hosted the Winter Olympics in 2018 and 2022. For its sheer size, India will matter in the future.'
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