Life at high altitude isn’t the easiest, presenting unique challenges. And for sports, it gets only tougher to cross the hurdles.
Even then, there are a few who are ready to conquer the adversities and make a difference.
Despite all the obstacles and challenges in 11,000-feet-high Ladakh, a group of focused individuals, led by a dynamic 35-year-old lady, Tsering Angmo, have managed to assemble young, promising footballers from the Union Territory and get them
ready for the upcoming Durand Cup, which begins on Wednesday.
So it’s for the first time in a coveted football tournament of India, that a team from Ladakh — 1Ladakh FC — will be taking part.
Ladakh, though, has participated thrice before in the Santosh Trophy.
In a few pockets of the Union Territory, like in Turtuk and Tso Moriri, one may come across young people playing cricket. However, it’s football that has ultimately brought the Himalayan region to the country’s sporting landscape.
Ladakh FC, coached by Rajan Mani — a former Chennaiyin FC head of youth and reserve team head coach and also ex-coach of Bengaluru FC academy — will play their Durand opener on August 2 against Nepal Army FC in Jamshedpur.
Looking back, the very task of setting everything up in the first place was quite difficult, recalled Angmo, Ladakh FC’s co-founder and founder of the Ladakh Football Association.
“People play football in Ladakh for a long time. But we didn’t have a proper platform before. Nonetheless, the scenario is slowly changing after the formation of the Ladakh Football Association (in 2022) and our club (in 2023),” she said.
“When I started the football association, I experienced a lot of challenges as we found a lot of amateur clubs in Ladakh. So, there was a need for professionalism for them to become professional football clubs.
“I then exchanged ideas with Mr Shamim Meraj, who used to be the co-founder of Real Kashmir FC. He suggested some ideas, which eventually helped 1Ladakh FC come into being. Our players needed professional training, and he helped in getting the outstation players who could help our guys.”
According to coach Rajan, Ladakh FC’s participation in the Durand Cup should be a bigger boost to football in Ladakh. “This is one of the ways to promote football further in Ladakh.
“This tournament will help our guys gain some much-needed experience at the professional level, while we also have to show that Ladakhi boys too have the quality to play football and can make a career out of it,” Rajan told The Telegraph on Saturday.
The team, comprising mainly young Ladakhi players and a few outstation footballers with some experience, have been camping in Ghaziabad. The squad plans to leave for Jamshedpur on July 26.
“For people living in high-altitude places, it’s not too hard to adjust to low-altitude areas. Besides, these (Ladakhi) guys are very obedient and mentally strong. Technically, too, they are sound. It’s just that a little more work needs to be done at the grassroots so that the foundation is a bit stronger for the upcoming players,” Rajan emphasised.
Some of the players in this team are also from Kargil, the head coach added.