Chennai: The 93rd All India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey tournament will be held from 29 August to 8 September at Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Egmore, Chennai.
Ten teams participate in the tournament, pooled across two groups of five teams each. Defending champions Indian Oil Corporation begins its campaign by taking on Indian Army on Saturday.
The prize money of the tournament has been increased by one lakh this year with the winner set to receive Rs. 6 lakhs while the runners up would get Rs. 3.5 lakhs. There will also be a cash prize of Rs. 10,000 given along with a high-end bicycle each to the best forward, best midfielder, best goalkeeper, the most promising player of the tournament and the man of the match of the finals.
The semi-finals is scheduled on 7 September and the finals will take place the next day, 8 September. The tournament this year has three new teams in Punjab National Bank, playing the tournament after two years, Indian Airforce and Hockey Unit of Tamilnadu, replacing Chennai Hockey Association. The matches will be played in four quarters of 15 minutes each.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the tournament, Managing Director of Parry Enterprises India Ltd, Arun Murugappan said, “This tournament has become a regular and noted fixture in the Hockey calendar of the country. From Murugappa, our focus has been to keep the level of competition high and to constantly improve the player experience at the tournament. We are happy to see the top teams and top players from across the country participating in this event.”
President of MCC, K Dhananjaya Das added, “We at Madras Cricket Club, aim to promote hockey on a large scale and are conducting the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey tournament every year. We are honoured to be associated with the 93rdedition and would like to extend our thanks to the Murugappa Group for their continued support.”
A traditional exhibition match will be played between the hosts MCC and The Hindu today at 6.00 p.m. under floodlights.