How MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Tourney has Retained its Relevance Across Decades!
The All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup is one of the oldest and prestigious domestic hockey tournaments around after the Beighton Cup – arguably the biggest domestic hockey tournament of Southern India, this tournament enjoys a rich history tracing memories back to 1901, when the inaugural edition was held as the Madras Challenge Cup on grass at the Chepauk Stadium. The tournament subsequently came to be known as the Murugappa Gold Cup Tournament that was conducted successfully across many decades.
The venue of the tournament was shifted from the Chepauk Stadium to ‘Ground B’ outside the cricket stadium but within the Chepauk sports complex around the mid-eighties, when the organisers of the tournament was able to rope in sponsors such as ITC and Lifebuoy in the eighties. The sheer popularity of this tournament ensured this tournament remained a huge successful.
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The tournament was shifted to the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Egmore in 1996 (this facility was created as part of the 1995 SAF Games held at Madras). The tournament came to be known as the All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup from 1996 onwards with the MCC associating themselves with this coveted tourney. The All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup has generated myriad fond memories for so many domestic and international hockey players of teams such as Indian Airlines, Air India, Army XI, BPCL, Indian Oil, Punjab & Sind Bank, Indian Railways, ONGC, Indian Overseas Bank (Chennai-based outfit), etc.
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The All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup is into its 95th edition and along the way there was challenges faced by the organisers owing to either non-availability of venue (going through repairs) or lack of availability of dates. This meant that this tournament could not held on a number of occasions – to cite an example, the 94th edition was held in 2023 while the 93rd edition was held in 2019. The tourney was also not held in 2014, 2011, 2007, 2006, and 2004 owing to organizational constraints but that hasn’t diluted its significance one bit.
The who’s who of Indian hockey have been gracing this tournaments across decades. The likes of Dhanraj Pillay, Mukesh Kumar, Ashish Ballal, AB Subbaiah, Dilip Tirkey, Mohammad Riaz, Ignace Tirkey, Jugraj Singh, Arjun Halappa, Sandeep Somesh, Sandeep Singh, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh among a host of others have enthralled the Chennai hockey crowd over time.
Recent All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Winners
| Tournament Edition | Winner |
| 2023 | Indian Railways |
| 2019 | Indian Oil |
| 2018 | Indian Oil |
| 2017 | ONGC |
| 2016 | Indian Railways |
| 2015 | Indian Oil |
| 2013 | Indian Oil |
| 2012 | Indian Oil & Air India Joint Winners |
| 2010 | ONGC |
| 2009 | Army XI |
| 2008 | Air India |
| 2006 | Bharat Petroleum |
| 2005 | Army XI |
| 2003 | IHF Juniors |
| 2002 | Indian Airlines |
| 2001 | IHF Juniors |
| 2000 | Punjab and Sind Bank |
| 1999 | IHF Seniors |
| 1998 | Indian Airlines |
| 1997 | IHF Juniors |
