Indian national Ice hockey team faced a defeat from Oman (5 - 6) in the Division I of the Asian Ice hockey tournament, Challenge Cup of Asia, held here in Kuwait on Saturday. India will take on its Kuwait counterpart at 8 pm Sunday, in its second match within the Asian Challenge Cup, which was opened last night at the Skating Rink with the participation of six teams, and will continue until April 24. The tournament, being held under the patronage of PAYS Chairman, Director General Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad, will see another match between Oman and Malaysia, and in the third match Kyrgyzstan meet Singapore.
"Team India played in the closest hockey game of our 6 year history, as well as the longest shoot-out in International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Challenge Cup of Asia history. We came out flying with 2 goals in the 1st period, but Oman capitalized on some turnovers between the end of the 1st and beginning of 3rd periods," Indian coach Adam Sherlip commented.
Earlier India had almost to cancel the event due to lack of government funding. But the team from India’s passionate hockey hotbed of Ladakh started a fundraising campaign and succeeded. They even got help from Anand Mahindra, who heads a conglomerate worth billions. Not only his donation helped, on Twitter he reached out to his 1.8 million followers to give the Indian ice hockey enthusiasts and their crowd funding campaign a much welcomed audience.
Dr. Hamoud Fulaiteh, deputy of Sheikh Ahmad, said that hosting this event shows Kuwait's support to sports and reflects its distinguished position on the sports map in Asia. Being aware of its responsibility towards backing sports, the authority has a strategy to support all sports games, including the ice hockey, in collaboration with the Kuwait Winter Games Clubs, Fulaiteh said in a speech delivered by him during the inauguration ceremony on behalf of Sheikh Ahmad. Fulaiteh conveyed all greetings of Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah and Sheikh Ahmad to all members of the participating teams.