Beating the odds and formidable opponents, the Chandigarh contingent to the Khelo India Winter Games made a statement by winning a silver and a bronze in their debut season of the tournament’s ice-hockey events.
The inline category men and women skaters, who also master roller hockey, stunned their superior seed teams to claim podium positions on the concluding day of the tournament.
While the women’s team claimed the historic bronze, the men’s team ended runners-up. Having no connection with ice-hockey in Chandigarh, the teams underwent one-month training at Dehradun and played club matches.
In the men’s final, Chandigarh lads went down fighting against the Army 2-3 to settle for silver. Notably, the city team had lost 10-1 against same opponents in the league stage. In semifinal, the local team had stunned hosts Ladakh with a 3-2 win. The side came back from two goals down and then almost forced extra time in the final. The Army team scored first in the sixth minute when Padma Namgail’s long-range flick found its mark. In the 10th minute, Tsewang Dorjay added the insurance with another firm push that found the far corner. In the final quarter, Chandigarh stormed back and scored twice in three minutes. With eight minutes to go, Gurtej Singh Bhatti broke the Army defence, and then Birshahaanjit Singh made it 2-2 with a deft flick after coming from behind the Army goal. The referees awarded the goal to Chandigarh after reviewing it for more than 10 minutes. Later, Padma Norboo found the final goal by marking along ranger shot.
On the previous day, the women’s team secured first-ever bronze medal by thrashing Himachal Pradesh 4-3.
“It was a stupendous effort by both the men and women teams. Despite having very limited exposure to the sport on ice-rink and having mostly played inline hockey, they showed grit and resolve to come together and played out of their skin. It’s a tribute to their coaches and amazing support from the Chandigarh Sports Department. This is just the beginning of their journey,” said Gurpeet Singh Bakshi, president, Ice Hockey Association of Chandigarh. The team will meet the UT Administrator on January 29. The teams were coached by Chetanpreet Singh and Gaurav Raheja.
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