Snow baseball becomes favourite sport in Kashmir
Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Gulmarg (JK): A snow baseball championship, organized by the Baseball Association of Jammu and Kashmir, in collaboration with the State Tourism Department, saw scores of young players displaying their skills as they took part in the game.

Gulmarg experiences heavy snowfall during winter and remains covered with snow for about six months, offering an excellent playground for winter sports, including snow Rugby and skiing.

The main objective behind organizing this unusual event was to attract tourists f to the picturesque town.

"If we look at the baseball game, it is the national game of the United States of America. It snows in America, England and Russia, but nowhere is baseball played on snowy fields. So, we consider ourselves as the frontrunners of playing this game on snowfields. We want some development in this game as Gulmarg is the perfect spot for national and international championships," said Fida Hussain, a baseball coach and organizer of the championship.

This action-packed sport, requiring a lot of courage and determination from the participants, has fascinated the youth, and that has prompted local evolution of the game.

"We are happy that we participated in this baseball championship. Now we will be able to play baseball on the snowfields. This is the first time that baseball is being played on snow and our experience has been very satisfying," said Asif Farooq, a baseball player.

Gulmarg is considered the country's premier ski resort with its natural slopes and inclines.