CHENNAI: Indian Navy (INN) cruised to a convincing 4-1 win over Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in a Pool B match of the 96th All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament played here in Chennai on Wednesday.
Ajinkya Jadhav and Selvaraj K starred for INN, netting a brace each to ensure their side dominated proceedings. Indian Navy opened the scoresheet when Jadhav neatly slotted in a field goal in the 17th minute following a swift counterattack. Despite a spirited response from CBDT, who equalised through Mehkeet Singh's well-taken penalty corner in the 23rd minute, INN regained control when Selvaraj K turned the tide with a field goal in the 33rd minute. Two minutes later, Jadhav scored a field goal and Selvaraj followed it up by another filed goal in the 36th minute, making it 4-1 for this team.
Though CBDT showed a bit of resistance, they struggled to break down INN's structured defence in the second half. The Navy's fluid midfield transitions and clinical execution in front of the goal made the difference.
In the second match of the day, Indian Army (INA) registered a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Hockey Maharashtra (MAH) in a closely contested match, with field goals from Pradeep Singh Bisht and Niraj Kumar Singh W proving decisive.
The match began with both teams showing attacking intent, but it was the Maharashtra side that broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when Ganesh Patil scored of a penalty corner. Soon, in the 29th minute, Pradeep Singh Bisht of Indian Army found the back of the net with a well-executed field goal. However, the parity was short-lived for Maharashtra as Niraj Kumar Singh struck in the 53rd minute with a field goal to restore Indian Army's lead. Despite several late attempts from Maharashtra, the disciplined Army defence held firm and finished the match 2-1.
In a high-octane encounter third match of the day, Hockey Karnataka and Malaysia Junior National settled for a 3-3 draw. Surya N M opened the scoring in the 7th minute with a field goal, followed by a penalty corner from Bharath Mahalingappa in the 18th minute. Malaysia responded through Azimuddin Shakir's penalty corner in the 29th minute. But Karnataka retained the lead when Bharath Mahalingappa in the 32nd minute scored a penalty corner. Malaysia fought back with Muhammad Handzalah's field goal in the 47th minute, and a late equalizer through a penalty corner by Muhd Adam Asyraf in the 59th minute.
IOC and Indian Navy have topped the Pool (B) and are through to the semifinals.
Results: Pool A: Indian Army 2 (Pradeep Singh Bisht 29th, Niraj Kumar Singh W 53rd) bt Hockey Maharashtra 1(Ganesh Patil 21st ).
Pool B: Indian Navy 4 (Ajinkya Jadhav 17th and 35th; Selvaraj K 33rd and 36th) bt Central Board of Direct Taxes 1(Mehkeet Singh 23rd).
Hockey Karnataka 3 (Surya NM 7th; Bharath Mahalingappa 18th and 32nd minute) drew Malaysia Junior National 3 (Azimuddin Shakir 29, Muhammad Handzalah 47th, Muhd Adam Asyraf 59th).