CHENNAI: Central Secretariat stunned Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) with a 6-2 win in a Pool A match of the 94th All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey tournament played at the Mayor Radhakrishnan stadium here on Thursday.
With this defeat, IOC, who were the defending champions, are out of the semifinal race. Skipper and goalkeeper P Naveen Kumar was one of the stars for Central Secretariat as he came up with numerous saves to deny IOC attack.
IOC forwards looked to play aggressively but failed to pierce into Central Secretariat’s defence. After conceding a goal in the 4th minute, the Central Secretariat stepped up the pace and led 2-1 at the end of the two quarters.
Gurjinder Singh opened the scoring for IOC with a strike from a penalty corner in the fourth minute. Central Secretariat bounced back with two goals in the 20th and 24th minutes through Hassan Basha and R Manikandan, respectively.
Early in the second half, the Central Secretariat increased their lead to 3-1 thanks to Mohd Umar’s brilliance in the 35th minute. Thereafter, IOC’s Gurjinder converted a penalty corner to reduce the scoreline to 2-3. Two more goals by Central Secretariat’s Shariq in the 40th and 58th ensured his team’s creditable victory over their star-studded opponent. In another match, Indian Army Red blanked Indian Air Force 6-0.
Inter-school T20 meet
District Cricket Association of Chengalpattu (DCAC) and SNK Forma Group will host the inter-school T20 Tournament from September 5 to 8. The tournament will be held at the SMK Fomra Sports Complex in Kelambakkam.
