Latest news with #96thMCC-MurugappaGoldCup
The Hindu
20-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Railways too good for Indian Navy, completes a hat-trick of titles
Defending champion Indian Railways subdued a youthful Indian Navy 3-1 in the final of the 96th MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Sunday and completed a hat-trick of titles. After a sedate start in the pool matches, Railways peaked when it mattered most: in the knockouts. It was a lesson in spotting the weakness of the opponent and working out a plan and executing it to a T. Realising that the Navy players are excellent in deflections through long and short passes from the 25-yard, dotted lines and the striking circle, Railways seldom allowed the rival strikers any leeway to unleash their shots. Such was the effectiveness of the Railways defence. In all the four quarters, Railways held the upper hand, negating Navy's counter-attacks with ease. Eight minutes into the contest, Railways scored through Shivam Anand who scooped one to the roof of the net after receiving the pass from Gursahibjit Singh from the left. It could have been 2-0 for Railways towards the end of first quarter if not for Zameer, being the last man standing behind 'keeper Sanjay Bhaskar, blocking a shot by Sayyad Niyaz Rahim. Within minutes, Navy equalised through Aakib Rahim Arif who slotted it home from the top of the circle. Thereafter, it was Railways' show all the way. Pankaj Rawat converted a copy-book penalty corner shot in the third quarter and Niyaz Rahim's fierce hit from the circle in the 57th minute made it beyond the reach of Navy. Sunil Kumar Singh, who was the head coach of Railways for three straight time, was ecstatic. 'It's a huge achievement for us to have a hat-trick in such a big tournament. We improved after each match. We knew the opponent will be depending on the slap shot. We only had to make sure we block it once they enter the 25-yard,' said Sunil. Railways received Rs. 7 lakh while Navy had to be content with Rs. 5 lakh. M. M. Murugappan, chairman, CUMI and Chola MS, gave away the prizes. The result (final): Indian Railways 3 (Shivam Anand 8, Pankaj Rawat 37, Sayyad Niyaz Rahim 57) bt Navy 1 (Aakib Rahim Arif 15).
The Hindu
19-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Railways trounces IOC, meets Navy in the final
An exuberant Indian Navy proved its performance in the pool matches was no flash in the pan, by putting it across an experienced Indian Army 2-0 in the semifinals of the 96th MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Saturday and reach its maiden final. Earlier, in a surprisingly one-sided semifinal, defending champion Indian Railways dished out sparkling hockey to outclass arch-rival Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) 7-1. In the summit clash on Sunday, Railways, going for a hat-trick of titles, will take on Navy. Possessing players with experience and quality, Army kept a youthful Navy team at bay by employing solid defence. Navy earned four penalty corners but couldn't make any of them count in a listless and goalless first quarter which was quite evenly matched. The second quarter, too, followed a similar pattern. Navy scored in the first minute of the third quarter, thanks to a fine deflection by Ashish Topno off a penalty corner shot by Sanjit Toppo. Navy continued to have the upper-hand in the third with a series of raids that were unsuccessful. Army's forwards were a let-down as its circle penetrations were poor as compared to Navy. Army earned its first penalty corner as late as in the fourth quarter. However, in the 55th minute, Army did unleash its attacking prowess by getting back-to-back penalty corners, but failed in all of them. With three minutes to go for the hooter, Navy effectively closed out the contest when Rajat Minz converted one by pushing it home off a free hit by Rajat Sharma. This was Railways' best performance after a lukewarm performance in the group matches. IOC was a mere spectator for the majority of the contest despite possessing internationals by the dozen. The hero of the match was Railways' Pankaj Rawat, who produced a hat-trick. The results: Semifinals: Indian Railways 7 (Darshan Gawkar 5 & 10, Pankaj Rawat 17, 51 & 54, Shivam Anand 30, Hartaj Aujla 44) bt IOC 1 (Affan Yousuf 6). Indian Navy 2 (Ashish Topno 31, Rajat Minz 57) bt Indian Army 0.
The Hindu
13-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Malaysia National junior team edges CBDT; HUTN, SAI-NCoE play out an exciting draw
The 96th MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup invitation hockey tournament served up a wonderful treat to a modest gathering of spectators at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Sunday. Three matches produced a total of 21 goals with each match outdoing the other in terms of quality and suspense. In the first match of the day, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu (HUTN) and SAI-NCoE (Bhopal) were involved in an eight-goal thriller, with both teams sharing the honours in a Pool-A tie. Later in the two Pool-B matches, Indian Navy produced a robust performance to outwit Karnataka 4-2 while the Malaysian National junior team delivered a stand-out performance under pressure to edge out Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) 4-3. After the shocking win over Indian Army the other day, much was expected from HUTN and the host did impress in the first quarter, attacking and defending with aplomb, leading 2-0. However, SAI-NCoE fought back admirably scoring thrice in the second quarter exposing HUTN's defence. The hosts, however, pulled up its socks in the third quarter by plugging the gaps and improving in the final third. HUTN captain B. P. Somanna was the star as he marshalled the team admirably. His second goal, off a penalty stroke, enabled it to equalise 3-3 and Balachandar scored off a rebound in a matter of minutes. However, TN's joy was short-lived as Amit Yadav converted. The Malaysian junior team delivered a sparkling performance, especially through the flanks to beat CBDT, which put immense pressure on the young side in all the quarters. Malaysia came up trumps, with a last-gasp goal through Shakir Azimuddin, who scored a scorching grounder off a penalty corner. The results: Pool-A: HUTN 4 (Patras Tirkey 3, B. P. Somanna 15 & 41, Balachandar 44) drew with SAI-NCoE (Bhopal) 4 (Mohammad Zaid Khan 20, Manjeet 26, Manish Sahani 29, Amit Yadav 47). Pool-B: Indian Navy 4 (Sushil Dhanwar 3, 20 & 34, Prashanth 53) bt Karnataka 2 (Bhrath Mahalingppa 12, G. Vishwas 35). Malaysia National junior team 4 (Muhd. Danish Aiman 20, Mohd. Harris Iskandar 41, Shakir Azimuddin 54 & 60) bt CBDT 3 (Pranam Gowda 24, Pardeep Singh Mor 27, Vikash Choudhary 57).
The Hindu
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Navy shows its might; IOC beats Karnataka
The Malaysian National junior team started well, but couldn't sustain the momentum and was roundly thrashed 4-1 by the Indian Navy in their opening Pool-B match of the 96th MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup invitation hockey tournament at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Saturday. Earlier, former champion Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) overcame Karnataka 4-3 in another Pool-B tie. In the first match of the day, defending champion Indian Railways played a sub-par game but managed to defeat Indian Army 2-1 in a lacklustre Pool-A tie. The third and final match of the day between Malaysia and Navy was interrupted by heavy rain as play resumed after an hour's delay. The highlight of the match was Navy's second goal by Navin Kerketta in the dying minutes of the third quarter. The 19-year-old from Jharkhand raced from the half-line towards the circle and demonstrated a 1-2 with Bhavin Kushalappa before pushing it home. Trailing 1-3, IOC fought back in style to outlast a young Karnataka side, which impressed with its speed, guile and shooting prowess. With a few seconds remaining for the hooter, senior player Talwinder Singh found the winner by unleashing a backhander from an acute angle from the right to seal the deal for IOC. The results: Pool-A: Indian Railways 2 (Darshan Gawkar 27, Gursahibjit Singh 58) bt Indian Army 1 (Masih Das Herenj 28). B: IOC 4 (Gurjinder Singh 6, V. R. Ragunath 44, Sudeep Chirmakoo 50, Talwinder Singh 60) bt Karnataka 3 (N. M. Surya 8, C. P. Livin 22, Chethan M Karisiri 34); Indian Navy 4 (Ashish Topno 8, Navin Kerketta 44, Sushil Dhanwar 47, K. Selvaraj 52) bt Malaysia National junior team 1 (Mohd. Harris Iskandar 2).
The Hindu
10-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup: Malaysian junior hockey team to arrive on July 10; Video referral introduced for all matches
The Malaysian national junior team will be arriving in Chennai on Thursday for the 96th MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium from July 10 to 20. This is the first time an international team is taking part in the prestigious tournament which will see the participation of 10 teams. Malaysia will take on Indian Navy on July 12 in its first match. Three new teams — Indian Navy, Malaysia and Central Board of Direct Taxes — have been included while Odisha, BPCL and Central Secretariat, which took part in the previous edition are not participating. Speaking to the media on the launch of the tournament, S. L. Rajiv Reddy, Organising Secretary said, 'We have raised the bar by having an international team and this time we have introduced video referral for all the matches.' Arun Murugappan, Executive Chairman, Tube Investments of India, said Murugappa will continue to support the tournament 'as long as we can'. Hailing the tournament as a great success, Vivek Kumar Reddy, president of Madras Cricket Club (MCC) praised Murugappa for its steadfast support. Niranjan Mudaliar, Secretary of MCC, also spoke. The traditional inaugural match will be played between MCC and Mercara Downs Golf Club (Coorg) on July 9 at 6 p.m. The teams: Pool A: Indian Railways, Indian Army, NCOE (Bhopal), Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu Pool B: IOC, Malaysian junior team, Indian Navy, Hockey Karnataka, Central Board of DIrect Taxes.
