The Murugappa Gold Cup is scheduled to be held at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai from July 10 to 20.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO
For the first time in the history of the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup All-India invitational hockey tournament, an International team will be competing in the prestigious event. The Malaysian team, as part of its preparations for the forthcoming FIH men’s junior World Cup, will be taking part in the tournament, scheduled to be held at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here from July 10 to 20.
Speaking to The Hindu on Friday, Rajiv Reddy, Organising Secretary of the tournament, said: “We wanted to raise the bar and we are happy that the Malaysian team is coming to Chennai. They also wanted to get acclimatised to the conditions before the junior World Cup to be held in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10. We tried to get a team from Europe or from Asia. At the time, Malaysian Hockey Confederation expressed its intentions and we were only too happy. In the future, we are keen to get international teams.”
According to Reddy, the biggest challenge was to get approval from few Central agencies. “We received clearance from Hockey India and Sports Ministry, and we were thrilled when we got clearance from Ministry of External Affairs and Home Ministry,” he said.
China, too, showed interest but the MCC shot it down, he added.
The Malaysian team is expected to arrive in the city on July 10 with its head coach Nor Saiful Zaini, its CEO Jayanandhan Vivekanandan and support staff.
Published – June 27, 2025 08:27 pm IST
