Over 200 Athletes, Coaches and officials from various parts of India participated in the National Coaching Camp- Snow Sports, held all of this week at Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh. Out of the 12 states of India that participated in the camp, 10 are the ones that have hot and humid weather during the larger part of the year. Braving a temperature that touched -3° Celsius, the athletes continued to practise and play. Few participants including the Coaches experienced even the imposing hills for the first time.
The jaw-dropping beauty of the hills encouraged the campers to carry on with uncompromising fervour despite the brutal cold. The daily regimen included, equipment care, coaches briefing, fitness sessions, skill assessment, sport training and competition for selections. The camp was held to prepare the athletes for the Special Olympics World Winter Games, likely to be held in 2025.
Narkanda is a town and a nagar panchayat in Kumarsain subdivision of Shimla district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is at an elevation of 2708 meters on the Indo-Tibet Road within a fir forest. It is about 60 km away from Shimla and is surrounded by the Himalayan Range
Leading the Camp in Himachal Pradesh, Mr Harpreet Singh, Jt National Director- Sports says, “Our constant endeavour is to extend the opportunity of snow sports to more states in India, despite contradictory weather conditions. It has been consistently observed through past experiences that the Athletes have the ability to flex into sports that may not be popular in their local surroundings. We will always reach out to more and more athletes multiplying their opportunities of participation and development”
Please find below the link to Dr. Mallika Nadda, Chairperson, Special Olympics Bharat, talking about India making its mark in the World Winter Games :
