“Coming as they do from a poor background, these boys are enjoying the stay, food and facilities they can only dream of,” says SP Singh Bhola, a hockey coach from Baramulla.

Shyamlal Sharma, a coach from Poonch, agrees: “These boys never got to train or play in full hockey kit. Now that SAI has provided each one of them with a full kit, there are many back home who want to join such camps. Even parents are forcing them to join these camps. This was something unheard of until last year.”

Then, there’s the added attraction of a stipend—Rs 500 per month.

Says MK Verma, a veteran SAI football coach in Jammu: “For outsiders, J&K is a troubled state. But for us, the risk factor is something we have been living with. So, I am not surprised at Kashmiri parents sending their children here.”

Both Bhola and Sharma are sure that their sub-junior hockey team would make it to the Nehru tournament in New Delhi next year. “And that will be just reward for our efforts,” says SAI’s Roy.

Next on the agenda, says Roy, is a volleyball camp for boys over six-feet tall. “Coming from high-altitude places, they are best suited for endurance games,” says Roy.