The 95th edition of the All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey tournament is all set to kick off in Chennai on September 19. (More Hockey News)
The competition will witness 10 teams battle it out, clubbed across two groups of five each.
Pool A will consist of the defending champion Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB – Indian Railways), along with Indian Army – Red, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hockey Maharastra and Hockey Unit Of Tamil Nadu (HUTN).
As for Pool B, it will have 2023 runner-up Hockey Karnataka, along with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), NCOE Bhopal, Central Secretariat and Hockey Odisha.
The top two sides from each group make it to the semi-finals on September 28, whose winners clash in the final the next day.
The winning prize money will be Rs 7 lakh, whereas the runner-up gets Rs 5 lakh.
There will also be a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each for the semi-finalist teams, in addition to a cash prize of Rs 10,000 given along with a high-end bicycle each to the best forward, best midfielder, best goalkeeper, the most promising player of the tournament and the man of the match of the finals.
Speaking on the occasion, Madras Cricket Club (MCC) President Vivek Kumar Reddy noted, “We at Madras Cricket Club aim to promote hockey on a large scale and are conducting the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament every year.
"We are honoured to be associated with the 95th edition and would like to extend our thanks to the Murugappa Group for their continued support.”
