After the much publicised campaign on social media, 22-member Indian ice hockey team will leave for Kuwait on Thursday to participate in the Challenge Cup Division 1 competition starting on 18th April. The competition will see India compete with the hosts Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, Malaysia and Oman.
A couple of weeks back most people in India didn’t even know that an ice hockey team exist in the country. Then came an appeal for donations through social media. They needed Rs3.50 lakh to fund their trip to Kuwait. With in a few days, they received over Rs5 lakh in a first of its kind initiative in India.
Apart from that, they also received generous donations from industrialist Anand Mahindra, who donated Rs5 lakh, and out of favour India Test cricketer Gautam Gambhir, through his foundation, chipped in with Rs4 lakh.
Thanks to the financial aid from people all across the world including as far as Norway, India are finaly participating in the tournament.
Generally, players or associations ask government authorities if they need money. "We have not approached Government of India (this time). We should first do it ourselves. If government wants to improve the skill sets of the players, they should help us with the infrastructure and availability of ice rinks. It's best if we set our own standards first,” Akshay Kumar, director of Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) said.
“We had approached the government during the Asian Winter Games but didn't get a favourable response. "If Government of India or the Sports Ministry makes funds available for us, they will have to do it for 50 other fringe sports. Right know they're focusing on Olympics and Asian Games, these smaller tournaments are unlikely to get the nod. If they have to change things, they will have change rules to completely to include us," he added.
He also clarified that the IHAI didn't hear from the Sports Ministry even after the campaign became a much publicised activity. lack of a top quality ice rink has been the biggest hurdle for the team. Dehradun's ice rink, only one with global standards, after playing host to South Asian Winter Games in 2011 has stayed shut due to funds crunch and rising electricity costs. With the team training for only two months primarily in ladakh, they would have a big task at hand when they face teams like Kuwait, who have been practicing for months in Sweden.
This is the only tournament approved by International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for Division 1 teams and India had finished without a win in 2014 edition in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan — losing all 5 games.
The 22-member team comprises 11 jawans — seven from the Indian Army and four from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Rest are civilians and students — including the captain and the vice-captain.