Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup Hockey from March 23
Bhopal — The state capital will host the 64th All-India Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup hockey tournament from March 23-29. The event will be organized by the directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare at the Aishbagh Stadium after a gap of eight long years.
Once a prestigious feature on the domestic hockey calendar, the Gold Cup drew some of the country’s best talent to the Aishbagh, which was also the venue for several city stars to break onto the national scene.
The tournament, however, has not been held since 2002 due to deterioration in amenities at the Aishbagh stadium – which has since been accorded a facelift – and rampant factionalism in the Bhopal Hockey Association (BHA).
According to reports, eight teams, including Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil, Namdhari XI, Air India, Punjab Police, Punjab and Sindh Bank, Indian Army and the Railways, have confirmed participation in the tournament while talks are on with a few others.
Hockey India has granted permission to the state government to revive the tournament and consent has also been obtained from the two BHA factions.
The reinstatement of the tournament came in for immediate approval from sports lovers in the state capital, who bitterly missed the charged afternoons at the Aishbagh that provided a unique blend of world class hockey accompanied by some educated but humorous comments that were truly Bhopali in flavour.