From Borrowing Uniforms to Making History: Indian Ice-Hockey Women's Journey to Glory

The tournament ended on June 6, where the Indian women stunned the world with their performances at Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.

The 20-member team consists of 10 players from the Indo-Tibetan border police -- 9 from Leh, and 1 from Himachal Pradesh.

Formed in 2016, the Indian women's national ice hockey team has inspired the next generation with their gritty show.

Their journey from the icy mountains of Ladakh to tasting their first success is a story of determination and perseverance, the story of 20 women who fought with challenges yet made history by winning India’s first ever medal at the women’s ice hockey Asia cup.

While most of the athletes talk about giving back to their sport at the end of their careers, the women’s ice hockey team sees the big picture even while competing because they remember where they came from and where they want women’s ice hockey to go.

In 2015, the team was initially named as the Ladakh Women’s Ice Hockey Foundation with an aim to form a skating camp for kids, but soon enough they realised they have created their own skating rink.Then they started dividing themselves into shifts, starting from 6:30 PM, they first poured water onto the frozen pond and smoothen it out to create the first layer. It took four hours for that to freeze before the second shift could repeat the process, going on until about 3 AM as the temperature dropped to around minus 25 degrees Celsius, turning the ends of hair sticking out from their caps into icicles. We laugh about it today, they said “because we had each other”.

During their first international event, they borrowed gear from the men, playing in oversized clothing, mismatched skates and refurbished cricket pads. But no more.

From the initial days, the local government stood by them, subsidising nearly 70 per cent on their playing gear and kits.

India's women ice hockey team played their first game in March 2016 at the IIHF 2016 women's challenge cup of Asia division, where they saw setbacks against Singapore, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, and Thailand.

Their first win came in 2017 against the Philippines with a score of 4-3 but in the same tournament they were defeated by Thailand with a score of 1-20.

However, the losses did not stop their sheer determination to achieve greatness. Turning things around in 2025 they made history by securing a third-place, falling only behind Iran and the Philippines, to win a bronze medal for the country.