On Thin Ice
With few fans and no funding, India's ice hockey teams run on passion alone
In the North of India, the country’s national ice hockey team is fighting to put their sport on the map. Despite no funding or following, the players continue to play for the love of the sport.
"Ice hockey in Ladakh is unique to the world...You have no air and you’re suffocating while exerting." Adam Sherlip is the coach of India’s ice hockey team, which is based in the mountainous North. His players are prepared to put up with the inhospitable conditions to play the game they love. For Tsewang Gyaltson, hockey allows him to escape his own life. “When we put on skates, we have no idea what’s going on outside in the world”. Yet playing comes at a cost. He and the other players rely on donated equipment. Few can afford medical bills, or the costs of travel. “Until now our families have supported us”, says a national team trialist, “but we also wonder how long we can continue this”.
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