The 91st All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament will be held at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium from July 27 to August 6. Ten teams, divided into two groups, will take part. Notable absentees are last year runner-up Indian Oil Corporation and Air India, while Hockey Bengaluru, Central Secretariat and Hockey Odisha have been included.
“We also tried the Combined Universities team, but we are told that the team couldn’t be readied,” said B. Vijay Kumar, treasurer of the Madras Cricket Club, at a press conference on Tuesday. Indian Railways will be keen to defend its title in a tournament where the winner will take home ₹5 lakh and the runner-up ₹2.5 lakh.
When Olympians Muneer Sait and V. Baskaran were asked why the format of four quarters of 15 minutes each was still not being followed in the tournament, the organisers said “they will take note [of it].”
Srivatsan Subramaniyam, President of MCC, thanked the Murugappa Group for its continued support. C.N. Shanmugam, Organising Secretary, also spoke. Manish N Gour will be the Tournament Director and S. Malar Selvam has been appointed as Hockey India’s observer.
Host MCC will play the traditional exhibition match against The Hindu on Wednesday under floodlights.
The teams:
Pool A: Indian Railways, BPCL, Punjab & Sind Bank, Hockey Unit of TN and Hockey Bengaluru;
Pool B: ONGC, Punjab National Bank, Army XI, Hockey Odisha and Central Secretariat.
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