Leh, Ladakh:

Rinchen Dolma, a team member and former Captain of Women’s Ice Hockey India, says, “We made our debut in 2016, and back then, the tournament was called the Women’s Asian Challenge Cup, which continued until 2023. After that, it was renamed the Asia-Oceania Championship in 2023 and 2024. This year, it was held as the Ice Hockey Asian Games, with six participating countries including Iran, Philippines, India, Malaysia, UAE, and Kyrgyzstan. We are very happy to have won the bronze medal. It was a hard-fought victory and marks India’s first-ever medal in this competition, achieved by defeating three teams, Malaysia, UAE, and Kyrgyzstan. India now stands third.”

Marking a historic achievement for Indian women’s ice hockey, the national team secured its first-ever bronze medal at the 2025 IIHF Women’s Asia Cup, held from May 31 to June 6 in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates. Of the 20-member squad, 19 players hailed from Ladakh and one from Himachal Pradesh. The final team was selected through a rigorous trial process, which saw participation from 45 girls representing various states. This milestone comes nearly a decade after India made its international debut at the IIHF Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia Division I in 2016.

In the 2025 edition, India competed against five other nations, playing a total of five matches, winning three and losing two, with a goal tally of 13 scored and 16 conceded, securing third place on the podium.

Tsewang Chuskit, Captain of Women's Ice Hockey team says, “Ice hockey is officially recognised as the state sport of Ladakh. Since childhood, we’ve seen this game being played by locals and the Indian Army on frozen lakes. Today, it has become an international sport, and playing at this level feels like a dream come true. Winning a medal was important because ice hockey is still not widely played across India — it’s mostly limited to North Indian regions. But gradually, it’s starting to gain attention in other states as well. Our victory will help spread awareness about the sport across the country, encouraging players from all states to participate. We hope many will feel inspired and take interest in playing ice hockey.”

Rinchen Dolma says, “The biggest challenge we face is the lack of proper ice facilities in India. The Dehradun Ice Hockey Rink, which opened in 2011, was shut down shortly after and remained non-functional for years. As a result, we had to rely solely on natural ice, which is available for barely two months in a year. In contrast, players from other countries get to train both on-ice and off-ice throughout the year. During those two months, we can’t even practice properly as a team because several tournaments are scheduled in the same period, leaving us with little time for team training.

Talking about the changes over the years, Tsewang Chuskit says, “When we participated in our first international tournament in Chinese Taipei in 2016, we had no idea about artificial ice. All our team members were from Ladakh and we had only played and practiced on natural ice. Playing on artificial ice was a completely different experience. We didn’t even have proper equipment back then, most of it was borrowed from friends and cousins. That tournament helped us realise where we stood and what we needed to improve to reach the level of other countries.

Our performance wasn’t great at that time. In 2017, we played in Thailand, where seven countries participated and India finished in fourth place. Now, players have a much better understanding of the game. They are more experienced, more dedicated, and more prepared. Even though the Philippines won the gold this year, it wasn’t easy for them, we gave them a tough fight and competed neck to neck.”

Having a proper coach and infrastructure is crucial for consistent growth. Now that the Dehradun Ice Hockey Rink has been functional since May 4, we finally had the chance to train there for 20 days before heading to the UAE. Though we won the bronze, we didn’t receive much acknowledgment or appreciation from Leh, which felt disheartening.”

“Ice hockey was mostly played by boys initially, and we hardly got any chances. We were often discouraged and faced many challenges. That’s why we founded the Ladakh Women’s Ice Hockey Foundation (LWIHF), so that women players would not face the same difficulties as we did. After that, we promoted our organisation on social media, and soon received many equipment donations from other countries. We then started coaching children in villages across Ladakh. In 2019–20, we sent 50 pairs of skates along with three coaches to Kaza, Himachal Pradesh, to organise coaching camps there. Although they have ice, they were not able to fully benefit from it due to lack of training. Now, ice hockey is becoming popular in Himachal Pradesh as well.

In fact, girls from Himachal have been representing India on the national team for the last three years. Since the foundation of LWIHF, it has also become easier to fight for our rights. However, we are still struggling,” says Tsewang Chuskit.

Talking about the support they need, Tsewang Chuskit says, “We need a proper ice hockey rink where we can practice throughout the year. We also require access to a nutritionist, physiotherapist, and a dedicated coach. Scholarships and stipends would make a big difference for us. We need support from everyone, whether it’s clubs or the administration, so that we can take this sport forward.”

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