Gulmarg, Jan 6: The second National Curling Championship 2022-23 was inaugurated at Gulmarg on Friday.
The competition was inaugurated by Padma Shri Yogeshwar Dutt, Indian wrestler & Olympian in the presence of Dr Rashmi Saluja, Executive Chairperson, Religare Enterprises Ltd, & President, Curling Federation of India (CFI).
The Jammu & Kashmir Curling Association is organising the tournament under the aegis of the Curling Federation of India (CFI) with support from the Jammu & Kashmir sports council.
Religare Enterprises Ltd is supporting the Championship for the second year in a row, a statment said.
The competition is being attended by 300 participants & officials and 15 teams from across the country in various disciplines under the sub junior, junior and senior categories.
Being also known as Chess on the Ice, Curling is much more complex and tense than many would imagine because of the amount of strategy involved.It involves players sliding heavy and polished stones on a sheet of ice towards a circular target. There are various categories in Curling including men’s, women’s and mixed doubles and wheelchair curling – as a paralympic sport.
Dr Rashmi Saluja, President CFI, said that she was elated to see the second edition of the National Curling Championship taking off in the serene and picturesque backdrop of Gulmarg’s snow-clad mountains.
“The event embodies the spirit of winter sports in India. My heart gladdens at seeing how our efforts are gradually yielding results with India’s improved showing at global Curling events. Religare will continue to promote sports and athletics in the country in a meaningful way by sponsoring deserving athletes and sporting institutions. I would also like to acknowledge Indian Olympic Association’s contribution in promoting Curling,” she said.
Yogeshwar Dutt, executive member of Indian Olympic Association, threw the event open.
“I’m glad that winter sports is now getting its due in India. India is slowly warming up to sports that are traditionally considered non-mainstream, ” he said.