MCC-Murugappa hockey tourney from today

The 90th edition of the MCC-Murugappa tournament which opens at the Mayor Radhakrishnan stadium on Thursday as the sponsors and organisers try to hold their head high at a time when the game itself has declined to an abyss in the nation which held it close to its heart at one point. 

Old-timers in Chennai recall the days when the MCC and Murugappa held tournaments separately, one in MCC and the other at the Egmore ground (where the Radhakrishnan stadium was built). “There was no dearth of hockey tournaments in Tamil Nadu in the 1960s and 1970s,” reminisces Muneer Sait, a former India international. “Madurai, Kovilpatti, Ooty and Chennai held tournaments every year but now only MCC-Murugappa remains,” he sighed.

This year’s edition has one combined unit of Tamil Nadu as the state entry. The organisers clarified it was because IOB, the entry for the tournament last year, had fared poorly and so it was in the best interest of the hosts to put up a team that has the combined strength of the state.

Hockey Unit of Tami Nadu will take on Air India in the first match on Thursday at 4.15 pm while Punjab and Sind Bank face Hockey Karnataka in the second match at 6 pm. Manish N Gour is the tournament director. The final will be held on September 11.