The Indian women’s Ice Hockey team had crowd funding from more than 3000 donors. (Source: Twitter) The Indian women’s Ice Hockey team had crowd funding from more than 3000 donors. (Source: Twitter)

The little known Indian women’s hockey team created history as when they recorded their first ever win on the international stage. They beat the Phillipines 4-3 in the Challenge Cup of Asia at Bangkok, Thailand.

The Indian women’s ice hockey team have had to deal with struggles with funding to even make their international debut. That came in the 2016 edition of the tournament at Chinese Taipei. It was a horrendous tournament for them as they conceded 39 goals and scored just five to crash out early.

But this time, the cash strapped team was supported by crowd funding from more than 3000 donors. The team had lost their first match of this year’s tournament against UAE but turned on a superb performance to get the better of the Phillines. The match was all square at the end of the first period but India went ahead to end the second period leading 1-0. The final period of play saw a flurry of goals and India ended on the right side of a 4-3 scoreline.

Ice Hockey is mostly played in the Ladakh region of India. The men’s and women’s team that represent India in the sport is almost anonymous and the teams have always struggled with funding for training, accommodation, air fares, visa, team jersey, and equipment. Even now, gear for playing the sport is rarely found in Ladakh itself.

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