Power game on ice

ADAKH HAS BECOME synonymous with ice hockey—in fact, 80% of the players in the national men's team and 100% in the women's team hail from the picturesque region in the northern embrace of India.

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The men's team made their debut in 2009 and the women's team in 2016, but their journey has been far from smooth.

Fighting the odds and scrambling to participate in international tournaments so that they can eventually get ranked and bring India its global glory at the Olympics in the near future, the men's team recently made their debut at the 2025 Asian Winter Games held from February 7 to 14 in China.

The women's ice hockey team, however, has its own story to tell.

When they started playing, as the 'ice time' was limited, they faced resistance from society. "Back in the days, we were told to do a dance performance in between ice hockey matches. So women were invited for that, but not to play ice hockey," says 34-year-old Noor Jahan, a senior team member who has now retired from the sport to take up the role of a coach. She is also working in the administration of the Ice Hockey Federation of India (IHAI), a national sports promotion organisation.