In Kargil, minus 25 degrees Celsius, children like to play ice hockey. The most popular winter sports in our state are alpine and cross country skiing, snowboarding, ski-touring, heli-skiing, ice skating and ice hockey.
Their has three regions in Jammu and Kashmir which offer different types of adventures. Ice hockey as a sophisticated and noble sport is of very recent origin in J&K. The game was introduced by IIS & M, Gulmarg in the late 1970s. He built a small rink near the golf club. Ice events were held there during the first National Winter Games.
Today they have the best natural ice skating rink on Alambal Road near Gondola with proper fence, roof and flood lights. It is considered to be one of the best natural ice skating rinks in India. Ice hockey has become a popular sport in the Ladakh region. With the support of some foreigners and the army, the game has reached almost every house in Dras and is played with high spirits in harsh winters. Organizations like Ice Hockey Association of Jammu and Kashmir, Himalaya Drass, KISS Club and Himalaya Sports and Cultural Organization etc. are working hard neck to neck to promote ice hockey in Dras. Dras has become the center of the sport over the years.
Ice hockey is played in many countries and is an Olympic event. Ice hockey is emerging as one of the most popular sports in the Ladakh region. Until recent years the sport was controlled by the Winter Games Federation of India, but has now been excluded from the organization and controlled by a full-fledged Ice Hockey Association of India.
Ice hockey is a sport played on the surface of the ice called the rink, which is made by a team of 6 players. A team consists of a goalkeeper, right defense, center, right wing and left wing. A team can field 18 players and 2 goals by wearing the same uniform. The aim is to spread the puck (disc) with ice and shoot into the opponent's target. Each target counts a point.

Ice hockey is now also played with artificial rinks in many parts of India. Some local clubs and military organize tournaments in Dehradun and Shimla etc. every year. The Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir hosts several such championships annually under the name and style of the Chief Executive Councilor Cup, Army Cup, Tourism Cup, Indo-Canadian Friendship Cup and J&K State Championship. The Ice Skating Association of India in association with Ladakh Winter Sports Club sometimes organizes national championships in Leh. Dras has apparently produced 2 international players which includes Zia ur Rehman Mir and Mohammad Maqbool.


Ice Hockey: In the freezing chill in Northern India.