Navy Win the Murugappa Gold Cup in a Shootout After Malik’s Sudden-Death Save
According to Sports Now’s full final report, Indian Navy are Murugappa Gold Cup champions again, and they did it the hardest way possible. A 1-1 draw with BPCL in Sunday’s final at Chennai’s SDAT Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium went to a shootout, then to sudden death, and Navy goalkeeper Ankit Malik settled it with a save before Kuldeep buried the winner. Final shootout score: 5-4 to Navy.
It had been a cagey final long before the drama. Navy broke the deadlock in the 14th minute, Abhishek Topno finishing a move built down the left by Pawan Rajbhar and Sundra Pandi. BPCL’s keeper Vikas Dahiya kept his side in it, denying Harjeet Singh in the 21st minute, and then Anmol Ekka struck from a penalty corner in the final seconds of the first half to send the teams in level.
The second half brought chances but no goals. Both sides earned two penalty corners in the third quarter alone and neither could convert, and the last quarter stayed just as tight. So it went to strokes, and the tension only went up from there.
In the first five rounds both sides scored four. Ashis Topno, Pawan Rajbhar, Kuldeep and K. Selvaraj converted for Navy, with Yogesh Singh the one miss. Charanjeet Singh, Sudeep Chirmako, Harjeet Singh and Devindar Walmiki scored for BPCL, with Deepak Pradhan missing. Four-four, sudden death, winner takes the trophy.
That’s when Malik stepped up. He kept out Sudeep Chirmako, and Kuldeep held his nerve to convert and hand Navy the 97th edition of one of Indian hockey’s oldest prizes.
For Navy, this caps a knockout run built on nerve. They ended Railways’ bid for a fourth straight title in Saturday’s semi-final, winning that shootout 4-2 after a 2-2 draw, while BPCL reached the final by beating the Indian Army 4-1 on strokes after their semi also finished 1-1. Both finalists had already survived one shootout. Only one could survive a second.
BPCL will feel this one. They’d drawn 5-5 with Navy in the pool stage, they’d fought back from behind in the final, and in the shootout they matched Navy stroke for stroke until the very last save. But finals don’t remember near misses. Navy lift the trophy, and Malik’s save is the moment everyone will talk about.
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