J&K Captain Faheem Masood Shah Leads Team to Five-Medal Haul in Dehradun

Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir's IcestockSport captain Faheem Masood Shah has added another chapter to his decorated career, returning from a national tournament in Dehradun with five medals — two gold, two silver and one bronze.

The tournament was held at the Himadari Ice Rink in Dehradun, a modern international-standard facility, and drew competitive squads from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Goa, Uttarakhand, Delhi and several other states. Faheem, leading the Jammu & Kashmir team as captain, was widely credited with steadying the side through a tightly contested field.

For the 33-year-old from Batamaloo, Srinagar, the result is the latest in a career that has spanned more than a decade and over 200 international matches, with medals won across three continents. Faheem was introduced to the sport in 2014 during a snow rugby event in Gulmarg, where a chance encounter with Manfred Schafer, then head of the International Federation of IcestockSport, put a stick in his hand for the first time. His opening shot found the target — and the rest, as they say, followed.

Faheem's most significant international result to date came at the 2025 World Icestock Championship in Kapfenberg & Stanz, Austria, where India won a team bronze medal and finished fourth in Team Long Distance, helping the country climb to a Top-7 world ranking in the Team Game event.

Off the ice, Faheem holds degrees in Computer Engineering and Artificial Intelligence & Data Science, and has worked professionally as a programmer and certified UX designer — a background he credits for the analytical edge he brings to competition. He is also engaged in community work through the Vaadi E Kashmir Foundation, supporting youth development and digital literacy initiatives across Jammu & Kashmir, and regularly spends time coaching young players after his own matches.

Winter sports in India remain under-resourced, and the gap is felt even more sharply in Kashmir, where athletes frequently train without proper coaching or equipment. Faheem has been vocal about the need for better rinks and sustained investment in the sport, arguing that Indian athletes are closer to the global elite than the current level of support would suggest.

With the Dehradun medals now added to his tally, Faheem's attention turns to the European Championships, with Olympic qualification the long-term goal — one he has described as a target not just for himself, but for young athletes across the Valley who see him as proof of what is possible.