HOCKEY IN THE HIMALAYAS
Ladakh goaltender and ambassador Dorjay Dolma.
Ken Baker called his emotional memoir They Don’t Play Hockey in Heaven, a title that has stuck with me through the years. While I cannot speak to the sporting preferences of the gods above—if heaven is a place on earth, then I can assure you that they play hockey there. Just ask the New York Times.
Northern India boasts some of the most stunning—and daunting—topography on earth. From snow-capped Himalayan peaks to the lush green of Shalimar in Kashmir, the region has long been synonymous with transcendent beauty, sought by religious seekers and adventurers alike. When Mughal emperor Jahangir constructed a pavilion at Shalimar Bagh, his beloved garden, he inscribed upon it the famous Persian verse: “If there is a paradise on earth—it is here, it is here, it is here.”
Three-thousand meters above sea level in the union territory of Ladakh, a women’s ice hockey club has found a degree of notoriety for its resilience in the face of extreme conditions. Nestled on the border of Tibet and extending between the Himalayan and Kunlun mountain regions, Ladakh hosts two and a half months of the most incredible outdoor hockey on the planet. This shortened season means intense practices for the young women who play there, and despite scarce resources, they have taken several matches at the Challenge Cup of Asia and played host to Slava Fetisov’s Last Game initiative for the United Nations.
Dorjay Dolma, the daughter of a farming family in Ladakh, is the goalkeeper of this gravity-defying squad. While Dolma only began her hockey career at the age of 21, she has already participated in the IIHF’s goalkeeping development camp in Slovakia this past winter and has been featured in news outlets across the world. From playing alongside one of Russia’s most famous defensemen to contending with altitude and cuisine changes on tours across Asia, Dolma boasts one of the most intriguing international hockey careers to be encountered anywhere. We caught up this week from New Jersey, USA and Ladakh, India respectively—an elevation difference of 11,476 feet.
Gillian Kemmerer (GK): How did you first discover ice hockey in Ladakh?
Famed Soviet defenseman Slava Fetisov takes his chances at The Last Game event in Ladakh.
Dorjay Dolma (DD): I started playing ice hockey in Ladakh in 2012. There is an NGO called the Student Educational Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), and at that time, they were teaching ice hockey to all of the students who were part of the organization. It was the first time I had ever seen ice hockey—I was 21 years old at that time, and had never seen skates before that. Until 2018, I was using equipment from SECMOL, but then I got my first pair of skates in Canada from a player named Janaka Shahi. It was her second-hand skates, but that was a grateful moment for me to have my first-ever pair.
GK: The coronavirus outbreak has halted life—not to mention sports—across the world. Have you seen cases in your region, and are you able to play?
DD: Yes, coronavirus is affecting the whole world and India, too, in large numbers. There around six thousand infected patients in India. Four infected patients are from my region of Ladakh. The Health Department here is doing a very good job because around 9 people have already recovered from it.
Because of the lockdown, we are not able to practice. From this season, we are totally unable to practice anywhere because in Ladakh, we do not have an artificial ice hockey rink. We are only able to play or practice in winter time—about two or two-and-a-half months. This is a situation we are facing in the Ladakh region, and for now, the whole of India is on lockdown.
GK: I have seen some beautiful photographs of your practices with the Himalayas in full view. Where exactly do you play in the winter?
The stunning topography of India’s Ladakh region.
DD: We practice ice hockey in the main town of Leh at a place called Gupuks Pond. It is a river where, in a certain area, the water is retained and it becomes frozen in winter. SECMOL gives us a lot of activities to do—we have a [second] ice hockey rink in winter time that the students construct themselves. We play ice hockey there in the winter time and football in summer. It was a very nice experience from that NGO, which helps us to do lots of new things.
This is the first year that, in my village, we have made an ice hockey rink on a pond to teach hockey to new kids. I have never practiced in my village [yet].
GK: At 3,000 meters above sea level, many visitors to Ladakh experience altitude sickness. While you are acclimatized, does the heavy cardiovascular workout of hockey ever cause issues? What about the adjustment to playing elsewhere?
DD: No, I don't think people like me who are from the Himalayas have to face any suffering from altitude. In my experience, I find it more easy to adjust in a lower altitude because I have already experienced the high altitude in my birth place. Whenever I visit a new country like Canada, Malaysia or Thailand, I usually feel light. In places like those, [my team] felt like we never got tired. So altitude is not a very big problem for us and it is easy for us to adjust in any country. But we usually face problems regarding food!
GK: Such as?
DD: As we are from India, you know that India is a rich country for spices. We have a habit of eating food with lots of spice, and in other countries, it is quite hard to get Indian food. When we eat the food [abroad], we find it quite tasteless and we usually miss our food at that time! But for a non-vegetarian like me, it is ok because we got lots of seafood.
Team India poses with Fetisov at The Last Game.
GK: As a lover of Indian food, I can sympathize with that! Famed Soviet defenseman Slava Fetisov recently brought his Last Game initiative to Ladakh. How did you enjoy playing hockey with him?
DD: I feel very lucky because, at a very young age, I got a chance to see and meet with Slava Fetisov. It was an honor to play with a famous player like him. I was so surprised at the way he plays ice hockey because of his age and was really inspired by him. It was one of the most beautiful moments in my life, and it was a huge honor to play with Slava.
GK: Slava’s Last Game campaign is meant to draw attention to regions impacted by climate change. How does this apply to Ladakh? Has your ability to play hockey been impacted at all?
DD: In my personal experience, climate change is not a big deal for our ability to play ice hockey, but because of global warming, we are losing our glaciers.They are melting rapidly in our region and the glaciers are the main source of water in Ladakh. The seasonal gap is a big deal for us because we don't have any artificial ice rinks to practice on, and we have to practice extra hard in winter.
GK: Who is your favorite goalie in the world right now?
DD: My favorite goalie is Alex Rigsby [Cavallini] from the U.S. National Team. When I went to Canada, it was the first time I saw her playing as a goalie. She played so actively and in a very easy way—very light and attractive. That is why she is my favorite goalie.
GK: Many goalies are very superstitious. Do you have any rituals?
Ladakh goalie duo Dorjay Dolma and Noor Jahan.
DD: I am a Buddhist and we do believe in god, but we don't have specific rituals or any superstitions. [Our team] does pray or wish before we play, but we mostly believe that whatever happens, it happens for good.
GK: You play hockey in one of the most spectacular destinations in the world. If any of us are lucky enough to get to Ladakh, what should we see?
DD: Leh is the main city in Ladakh, and it falls under the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Recently we became a union territory. Leh is open for five to six months and is totally closed for the rest of the year. Our economy is fully based on tourists.
Ladakh has lots of historical palaces and monasteries. It also has the world’s highest motorable road, which is called the Khardung Pass. Ladakh has so many places to visit like Pangong Lake, Nubra Valley, Zanskar Valley and so on. My favorite place is Kashmir.
