SHIMLA: In a first, the Ice Hockey Association of India will hold a national tournament in the newly developed open-air rink amidst the stunning backdrop of the Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh's Spiti Valley, a cold desert, officials said on Friday.
"We are going to hold the under-20 ice hockey tournament in Himachal Pradesh for the first time. It will start on January 27," Ice Hockey Association of India General Secretary Harjinder Singh told IANS over phone.
He was here to inaugurate a training camp on Thursday being organised by the state government in association with the ice hockey federation in Kaza town, some 350 km from here.
Authorities this week opened the ice rink of 31 metre by 61 metre size by giving a natural coating of thick layers of ice.
According to Singh, winter sports have immense potential in the Spiti Valley where snowfall cover remains at least for five months. IANS