Rare ice hockey tourney begins in Upper Chitral village

CHITRAL: The thrilling ‘ice hockey’ tourney got underway in Parwak village of Upper Chitral amid fanfare on Tuesday.

The eight teams comprising boys and little girls participated in the event enthusiastically.

The Canadian High Commissioner Leslie Scanlon, who was there along with her daughter, refereed the inaugural match of the event played between the Fox and Snow Leopard teams in which the latter emerged triumphant by three goals.

A large number of locals had thronged the venue in the centre of the village where the ice surface had been developed for the game with the financial support of Canadian High Commission in Islamabad and facilitated by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme by involving the local support organization.

The people evinced their high degree of interest in the newly introduced game and pleasantly surprised over the performance of the young players who had worked vigorously during the past two years when ice hockey was introduced here by the Canadian government of which it (ice hockey) is their national game.

Lady councillor Sara Shah said that the participation of little girls in the game is highly appreciable and it promised a bright future of gender equality in the area where girls had already excelled in the field of education.

Speaking on the occasion, Leslie Scanlon said that the topography of the area was ideal for the game which provided proper space and place for it while the future of the game will depend on the interest of the local communities towards.

She expressed her determination to support the ice hockey and other snow-related games in the area in proportion to the volume of curiosity and interest shown by the local people.