Murugappa Gold Cup 2024: Indian Railways retain title, beat IOC 5-3 in a thrilling encounter
The Indian Railways defended their title in the 95th edition of the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament with a 5-3 victory over Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Sunday, September 29.
Gursahibjit Singh opened the scoring for the Indian Railways in the seventh minute of the game. Simranjot Singh found the back of the net in the ninth minute to double the defending champions' lead to 2-0 at the end of 1st quarter.
Former Indian striker Yuvraj Walmiki got his name on the score sheet in the 18th minute to hand the Indian Railways a 3-0 lead in the all-important clash. However, Talwinder Singh (23') and Gurjinder Singh (29') scored a goal each for Indian Oil Corporation in the 2nd quarter to keep their hopes alive.
The Indian Railways had a one-goal lead at half-time, with the score-line reading 3-2 in favor of the defending champions.
Mukul Sharma brushed one past the Indian Oil Corporation goalkeeper in the 35th minute to extend the Indian Railways' lead by two goals. Rajbir Singh scored a goal for IOC in the 58th minute, while Yuvraj Walmiki completed his brace with another goal in the dying minute of the game.
Neither team was up to the mark in penalty corner conversions. The Indian Railways converted only one of their nine chances, while the former champions Indian Oil Corporation also converted only one penalty corner from eight chances in the summit clash of the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament 2024.
Indian Oil Corporation secured a place in the final with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Indian Army in the semi-final. Meanwhile, the Indian Railways earned a spot in the summit clash with a dominating 4-0 victory against Odisha.
Murugappa Gold Cup 2024: Indian Railways vs IOC Final Result
Indian Railways 5 (Gursahibjit Singh 7', Simranjot Singh 9', Yuvraj Walmiki 18' & 58', Mukul Sharma 35') beat Indian Oil Corporation 3 (Talwinder Singh 23', Gujinder Singh 29', Rajbir Singh 58')