The first vice-president of the country’s Hockey Federation, Elzar Bolotbekov, told where athletes are engaged and why it is not easy to develop this sport

Bolotbekov said on Sputnik Kyrgyzstan radio that ice hockey players under the age of 15 train in clubs and often travel to international competitions

“We recently signed a memorandum with Ak Bars, we took children there for training camps and games. They saw professional hockey. One boy, Albert, is the first Kyrgyz who got into the system and trains at this academy. We are arranging for our guys to go to another trials in the summer. This is a chance for the most deserving to practice real ice hockey,” said the representative of the federation

According to him, there are few infrastructure facilities for ice hockey in Kyrgyzstan, and players have to share the ice, for example, with figure skaters

“We are trying to develop this sport at all levels: among children, youth, and the national team. The IIHF World Championship in 3A Division will be played in Bishkek from March 10 to 16. Teams from Mexico, South Africa, Luxembourg, Turkmenistan, Thailand will come to us. There will be a tournament for six teams, the winner will move to the second division. And from March 21 to April 1, we will host the Asian Women’s Championship,” Bolotbekov said