Times of India: Gold cup hockey to start from November 28

MUMBAI: Twelve leading teams, including last year’s runners-up Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), are to take part in the 51st All India Bombay Gold Cup Hockey Tournament MHAL-Mahindra Stadium here from November 28 to December 7.
The tournament has been robbed of some sheen by the withdrawal of last year’s winners Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and would see eight other outstating teams battling it out for supremacy along with four local challengers.

Mumbai Hockey Association Limited is conducting the tournament under the auspices of Hockey India and MHAL President Mangha Singh Bakshi said that BPCL had pulled out because maximum number of their players are on national duty.
“Some are with the Indian senior team participating in a 4-Nation tournament in Melbourne, Australia and many are in the Indian junior squad that will take part in the Junior World Cup scheduled to commence early next month in Lucknow,” Bakshi said.

CAG (Delhi), former champions Indian Oil, Bengaluru; Army XI (Delhi), South Central Railway (Secunderabad), Punjab and Sind Bank (Delhi), Punjab National Bank, Delhi XI and Hockey Karnataka are the eight outstation outfits in the fray.
The local challenge would be from Mumbai Super League champions Indian Navy, Western Railway, Central Railway and Bombay Republicans.

The 12 teams have been divided into four groups of three each and the top two teams from each pool will qualify for the knock-out quarter-finals.

The quarter-finals would be played on December 3 and 4 and the semi-finals on December 6, followed by the final the next day.