Chennai: In what turned out to be an incredibly slow-paced final, Air India captured the Gold Cup in a fully stretched out combat, which went into tiebreaker in the MCC-Murugappa hockey tournament at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Sunday.

Amidst mounting tension IOC’s skipper, Deepak Thakur, flunked the last stroke and that decided the fate of the match in favour of Air India at 6-5.

The teams shared two goals at the end of the regulation time and the extra-time failed to resolve the tussle.

The sizable holiday crowd, some trickled in even an hour before the start, did not bargain for such an innocuous fare from the two redoubtable combinations.

Defensive play

Defensive for the major part, neither side exhibited that amount of energy and harmony to lift the final from mediocrity. True, there were patches when the stars flickered, but on the whole the contest left a genuine enthusiast dissatisfied.

IOC led by the tireless Deepak Thakur had the edge in the first half but somehow was unable to consolidate the ascendancy of the attack in the rival half. Prabhjot Singh flashed into the picture now then as did Rajpal Singh striving to give the frontline a semblance of cohesion. It was an immaculate penalty corner by Raghunath in the closing minutes that put IOC ahead.

The Air India raids too came in fits and starts. Despite lacking in cohesion, the mid-field consisting of Vinay, Vikram and Gurbaj, kept the forwards on the move. Inside forward Arjun Halappa managed to thread a few incisive forays in the company of Shivendra Singh. But the team failed to come up with a real scorcher of a move to subdue the IOC defence

However, Air India levelled shortly after the break. Shivendra did the spadework with a pretty move. Lugan carried it forward and a cross for him culminated in Prabodh Tirkey diving forward and deflecting the ball into the boards. This was one effort that drew spontaneous accolade from the crowd.

Thereafter, neither side could induce any measure of vigour and the tie inevitably went into the tiebreaker, which eventually decided the outcome.

Air India received Rs.1,50,000, and the runner-up Rs. 1,00,000.

Mr. M.V. Murugappan, Chairman, Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre, presided and gave away the prizes. Mr. S.K.A. Manickavasagam, President, Madras Cricket Club, welcomed the gathering. Mr. Arun Murugappan, Organising Secretary, proposed a vote of thanks.

The result: final: Air India 6 (Prabodh Tirkey, TB-Shivendra Singh, Arjun Halappa, Sandeep Singh, Prabodh Tirkey and Gaurav Tokhi) bt Indian Oil 5 (Raghunath, TB- Raghunath, Didar Singh, Bharath Chikkara, Roshan Minz). HT 0-1.

Player of the tournament: Deepak Thakur (IOC), Man-of-the-Match: Prabodh Tirkey (Air India). Best forward: Adam Sinclair (IOB), Best mid-fielder: Senthil (IOB), Best defender: Innocent Kullu (Railways).

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THE HINDU

BY HOCKEY CORRESPONDENT