97th Murugappa Gold Cup Starts Tomorrow in Chennai, Railways Chase a Fourth Straight Title
Ninety-seven editions. There aren’t many hockey tournaments anywhere that can say that.
The All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup was launched in Chennai on Wednesday, and it runs from Thursday 22 October to a floodlit final on 1 November at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Egmore. Ten teams, two pools, and one very familiar name at the top of the bill.
Indian Railways are the defending champions and they’re chasing a fourth straight title. They’re in Pool A with Indian Army, Indian Oil Corporation, Punjab National Bank and Hockey Karnataka. Pool B has Indian Navy, Bharat Petroleum, SAI-NCOE Bhopal, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, and a Malaysian side making their second straight appearance at the tournament, which tells you the invitation means something on both sides.
The money’s decent for a domestic cup, too. Seven lakh rupees for the winners, five lakh for the runners-up, fifty thousand for each losing semi-finalist, and ten thousand plus a high-end bicycle for the individual award winners. Best forward, best midfielder, best goalkeeper, most promising player, player of the final. Somebody’s riding home happy.
There’s also the bit this tournament does that more events should copy: the “Plant a Goal” scheme, twenty saplings planted for every goal scored. Score a hat-trick in Chennai this week and you’ve started a small forest.
The traditional opener, MCC against the Coorg Hockey Team, was set for Wednesday evening under lights, before the tournament proper starts Thursday. Railways start as favourites, because three straight titles buys you that. But Army and Indian Oil have both got the squads to ruin a streak, and streaks in Chennai heat have a way of ending. Indian hockey is having a busy week — Haryana just won the Senior Nationals and a new state league launches in Chhattisgarh tomorrow.
