The Sports Secretary of Ladakh, IAS officer Ravinder Kumar Dangi, was recently seen in a video with a broom in his hand, cleaning an ice-hockey rink. One Member of Parliament shared this video, tweeting, “What a skilful sweeper!” To know the story behind the video, Indian Masterminds got in touch with the man himself, Mr. Ravindra Kumar Dangi, who revealed why he cleaned the ice rink himself.

STORY BEHIND THE VIDEO

“It was a snowy day in Ladakh, and the ice-hockey rink was covered with ice. The ice on the rink does not allow the players to play. They may fall as well. We were the first person to reach the rink for practice, so we started looking for options to clean it up for the players. I found some broom lying there and started cleaning the rink,” IAS officer Dangi said.

That’s when the officer’s coach took his video. Next day, the video came to the notice of a Member of Parliament who shared it on social media, which later became viral.

LEARNED ICE-SKATING

Mr. Dangi said that it was only last year that he saw the game of ice-hockey for the first time. That’s when he thought of learning the basics of ice-skating. “From last one and half year, I was looking forward to learn ice-skating but couldn’t learn because of hectic schedules. However, this year I made up my mind to at least try it so that I can understand how players feel when they play the game and what kind of challenges they face,” the officer told Indian Masterminds.

Ice-hockey is a different sport in comparison to others because it requires the players to first learn ice-skating, after which he is able to learn and play ice-hockey. The officer added that ice-hockey is mainly dominated by Ladakh players.

DEMAND OF ICE-HOCKEY

Villages in different parts of Ladakh have a huge demand for ice-hockey rink and equipment.

“We invite players from different Embassies every year to play with our players. In the last two years, pandemic didn’t allow much gathering. Earlier, they used to come and there used to be a friendly environment amongst all the players and Embassies’ staff. There is a craze for ice-hockey in Ladakh,” Mr. Dangi informed.

PROMOTING ICE-HOCKEY

The Sports Department of Ladakh is taking different approaches to promote ice-hockey amongst the youth of the region.

“Firstly, we are developing more ice-hockey rinks. Right now, we are developing 50 outdoor rinks in different parts of Ladakh. We are also building indoor ice-hockey rinks, one each in Leh and Kargil, for round the year practice,” the officer informed.

Secondly, the department is purchasing equipment for all these ice-hockey rinks that they are developing in Leh, Ladakh and Kargil, so that the youth can get proper training in ice-hockey.

Thirdly, they are planning central coaching for the players and basic coaching for different regions. “We have already tied up with Royal Enfield for soft skills and coaching. This year we will have at least 50 good ice-hockey rinks in Ladakh which will help us to send our best players to the national team,” the officer said.