Indian Navy prevails in penalty shootout to claim Murugappa Gold Cup title

Indian Navy (INY) beat Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) in a 5-4 penalty shootout victory in the final of the 97th MCC-Murugappa held at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Chennai, on Sunday.

After a 1-1 draw in regulation time, the supporters got an exciting end to the contest as Indian Navy prevailed in successive shootouts, first in the semifinals and now in the finals.

In a thrilling shootout, both teams scored four and missed one, taking it to sudden death, where INY goalkeeper Ankit Malik pulled off an unreal save to deny BPCL’s Sudeep Chirmako. As Sudeep charged into the box and tried to juke Ankit to create enough space, the keeper, despite falling to the ground, stood up quickly and dove to his left to make the save. To seal the title for the Navy, Kuldeep took on the responsibility, making no mistake in winning the tournament for his team.

Former Olympian Adam Sinclair said before the match, “Hockey has become like the T20 cricket format. The last quarter decides the game, and if you are able to stay in the game till the last quarter, on a given day it can go either way.” This seemed to be the mantra for both the teams as the match carried into a measured second half, after a fast-paced first half.

Despite the slight drizzle, fans gradually made their way into the stadium at the start of the game, where both teams were ponderous and watchful in attack, despite the rains enabling a fast playing surface.

BPCL started the first quarter with more possession and attacks; through a few long balls, they were able to disturb the INY defence. The Navy slowly grew into the game, with faster transitions and a focus on keeping the ball on the ground and out wide.

This led to the first big chance of the game, which INY converted for the opening goal. Another transition in attack from the Navy led to the experienced Pawan Rajbhar crossing the ball into the circle, which Abhishek Topno expertly turned into the goal.

The second quarter started with higher intensity, compared to the first quarter, as the teams looked more settled into their roles.

But the defenders remained resolute with attacks being quelled before they reached the opposition circle. It needed a moment of inspiration which came from a long ball by the 2016 Olympian, Devindar Walmiki of BPCL, which was controlled by his teammate in the circle before his slap-pass was turned into his own net by an INY defender. However, to save the defender’s blushes, the referee adjudged the control by the BPCL player as hand first, and the goal was disallowed.

In the second quarter, INY’s Nitesh squandered a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0 after a great push pass from K Selvaraj, leaving Nitesh all alone in the box. But he was unable to control and convert in time as Devindar got back in time to get the ball away from his goal.

Minutes before the quarter ended, BPCL equalised from a Penalty Corner with Anmol Ekka making no mistake to make it 1-1.

The tactics for the third quarter seemed clear from the start for both teams: attack down the wings and cross the ball quickly to try to get a PC. Both teams were successful in earning their set pieces but were unable to convert them.

With tiredness seeping in, both teams were slow off the blocks in the final 15 and were cautious in their approach. Though there was no breakthrough in regulation time, lndian Navy did just enough in the shootout to clinch the title.

Published on Nov 01, 2026