IOC wins Obaidullah Gold Cup Hockey Tournament

Bhopal: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) won its maiden title in the 65th All-India Obaidullah Gold Cup Hockey

Tournament being played at the Aishbagh Stadium here by defeating BPCL 3-2 in a closely contested final last evening. Captain Deepak Thakur opened IOC`s account in the 12th minute through a brilliant field goal to take a 1-0 lead for his team. Seven minutes later, forward Ramandeep Singh of IOC again scored a brilliant field goal taking a lead of 2-0. Defender V R Raghunath of IOC converted a penalty corner in the 23rd minute to further consolidate the lead to 3-0. Till breather, IOC led 3-0. However, in the second half, BPCL players played some aggressive hockey and hit two goals in the last 12 minutes of the play. The first goal for BPCL was scored by Gurpreet Singh through a penalty corner in the 58th minute while the second one was struck by Jarnail Singh through a brilliant field goal, a couple of minutes before the final whistle which reduced the margin to 2-3. BPCL got eight penalty corners but converted only a single into the goal while IOC earned two penalty corners and succeeded in converting one of them. Skipper Deepak Thakur was adjudged man-of-the-match for his brilliant field goal and nice moves. Earlier in a hardline match, Air India beat ONGC 4-3 to grab the third position. Madhya Pradesh Urban Administration Minister, Babulal Gaur gave away the trophy to the winners IOC along with a cheque worth Rs 11 lakh while the runners-up BPCL got Rs 5.50 lakh. The third and fourth place holders -- Air India and ONGC -- were awarded Rs 2.75 lakh and Rs one lakh respectively. PTI