87th All India Mcc-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament 2012

The Madras Cricket Club is one of the premier sports institutions in the country, which organizes major national level tournaments in the disciplines of Tennis, Squash, Cricket, Badminton, Billiards and Hockey.

Originally started as the Madras Challenge Cup in 1901 and later named the A.M.M Arunachalam Challenge Cup after the first Indian President of Madras Cricket Club, this is the 87th edition of the tournament which was named MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup in 1965. From the early days, this tournament has been the premier hockey event in South India and one of the major competitions in the country attracting the top teams and talent. This tournament was keenly observed by coaches and administrators for picking talent to represent the country. We are proud as the Madras Cricket Club to be associated with this tournament and be the only sporting club in India to conduct an event of such magnitude.

The 87th MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament will be held between 6th and 16th September, 2012 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Egmore, Chennai.

A total 10 teams are pooled in 2 groups as follows:-

ONGC will be defending their title. The tournament will be played on a league cum knock-out basis. Top 2 teams from each pool will qualify for semi-finals to be played on 15th September. The Finals will be played on the 16th of September under floodlights.

One match will be played under floodlights on all days. The league fixtures is enclosed herewith.

Prize money for the tournament remains at Rs.2,50,000/- for Winners and Rs.1,50,000/- for Runners-up. There will be prizes from the semi-finals stage for the man of the match for each game and special prizes for the best player of the tournament, for the best forward, the best goal keeper and the most promising player of the tournament.

Mr.Mohamed Muneer will officiate as the Tournament Director and will be assisted by a team of outstation and local officials.

The Press will be provided with broadband / fax facilities at the venue to facilitate sending reports after the last match. The finals will be aired live on Doordarshan.

The host MCC will play the traditional exhibition match against The Hindu on 5th of September at 6.00 p.m. under floodlights.

The Murugappa Group

The tournament is sponsored by one of India’s largest business conglomerates, The Murugappa Group and Madras Cricket Club would like to thank Mr. Vellayan, Executive Chairman of the Murugappa Group and Mr.Arun Murugappan, Managing Director – Parry Enterprises India Ltd, for their continued support and interest in promoting the game in Chennai.

Talking about this, the Managing Director of Parry Enterprises India Ltd Arun Murugappan said “Murugappa Group takes great pride in bringing to you once again the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament. Since the past 60 years or so, Murugappa Group has been actively engaged in promoting this sport and the spirit behind it – teamwork, planning and execution, and the sheer energy of the sport. From this year onwards, in addition to supporting and rewarding the current players, we are working on some steps for honoring those who have contributed to the sport in various ways. In addition, we are also trying to create opportunities for the school and college students to take advantage of the top-class hockey talent available in the city during the tournament, by conducting coaching camps for them. The plans are underway for this.”

We thank you for being here and look forward to your support in covering this event.