Srinagar/Dehradun: Jammu & Kashmir’s Icestock captain Faheem Masood Shah once again proved why he remains one of India’s most consistent winter sports athletes, returning from Dehradun with a five-medal haul at a recently concluded national tournament.
Competing at the Himadari Ice Rink in Dehradun — a modern, international-standard facility — Faheem led the Jammu & Kashmir contingent against strong teams from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Goa, Uttarakhand, Delhi and several other states. He walked away with two gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal, while also captaining the J&K side through the tournament.
For a 32-year-old who has been competing on the national and international circuit for over a decade, the Dehradun outing was less a surprise than a continuation of a pattern. Faheem has represented India in more than 200 international matches, earning medals across three continents in a sport still finding its footing in the country.
His journey into IcestockSport began almost by accident. Faheem was in Gulmarg for a snow rugby event in 2014 when he was introduced to the sport by Manfred Schafer, then head of the International Federation of IcestockSport. Handed a stick and asked to aim at a target on the ice, his first shot found its mark — and a career was born.
Since then, Faheem has balanced elite competition with an equally demanding academic and professional life. He holds a degree in Computer Engineering and a master’s in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, and has worked as a programmer and a certified UX designer. Away from the rink, he is also an independent researcher and contributor to research papers.
One of the high points of his international career came at the 2025 World Icestock Championship in Kapfenberg & Stanz, Austria, where he helped India secure a bronze medal and a fourth-place finish in the Team Long Distance event, pushing India to a Top-7 world ranking in the Team Game category — among the country’s best-ever results in the sport.
Faheem remains closely involved with grassroots development back home. Through his association with the Vaadi E Kashmir Foundation, he supports youth development, digital literacy and community sports initiatives across the Valley, and is known to spend time coaching children on the ice after his own matches conclude.
“We’re not that far behind,” Faheem has said of India’s standing in the sport. “We just need people to believe in us.”
With the Dehradun tournament behind him, Faheem’s focus now shifts to the European Championships and, beyond that, Olympic qualification — a target he has described as being for “every kid who thinks they can’t make it because they’re from Kashmir.”
Tournament Record
| Year | Event | Level | Location | Result |
| 2014 | 1st National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Gold |
| 2015 | 2nd National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Silver |
| 2016 | 3rd National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Silver, Silver |
| 2017 | 4th National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Gold, Silver |
| 2018 | 5th National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Silver |
| 2018 | 12th Ice Stock Sport World Cup | World Championship | Austria | 10th Place |
| 2019 | 6th National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze |
| 2019 | International Ice Stock Sport Cup | International | China | 5th Place |
| 2020 | 13th Ice Stock Sport World Championship | World Championship | Regen, Bavaria, Germany | 7th Place |
| 2021 | 7th National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Silver |
| 2021 | Summer National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | SKISC, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver |
| 2022 | 8th National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Silver |
| 2022 | 14th Ice Stock Sport World Championship | World Championship | Ritten, Italy | 7th Place |
| 2023 | 9th National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Bronze |
| 2023 | 3rd Khelo India National Winter Games | — | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze |
| 2023 | 2nd Summer National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Pune, Maharashtra, India | Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze, Bronze |
| 2024 | 10th National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver |
| 2024 | 3rd National Ice Stock Sport Summer Championship | National | Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Silver, Silver |
| 2025 | 11th National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze |
| 2025 | 15th Ice Stock Sport World Championship | World Championship | Kapfenberg & Stanz, Austria | Bronze |
| 2025 | National Summer Ice Stock Sport Tournament | National | Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India | Gold, Silver |
| 2026 | 12th National Ice Stock Sport Championship | National | Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India | Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver |
| 2026 | National Ice Stock Sport Tournament | National | Himadari Ice Rink, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India | Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze |