Murugappa Gold Cup | 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).