A strong Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited got off to a winning start, beating Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu in a Pool "A" match in the 91st All India MCC Murugppa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament here today.
The tournament opener saw BPCL forwards being kept at bay by the local outfit in the first half, thanks to some tight defending.
In the second, Kawaljit Singh scored a field goal to put BPCL ahead. Sher Singh doubled the margin in the final minute to give the team two points.
Later, in a Pool "B" game, Army XI was held to a 4-4 draw by Hockey Odisha after having been ahead 3-0 at half-time.
The Army team led by three goals at the break with goals from skipper AP Siraju via a penalty corner, Binoy Bhengra and Anselm Hemrom.
On resumption, the Odisha team bounced back strongly and slotted in three goals in the 42nd, 45th ad 56th minutes to draw level.
The final 10 minutes of the encounter saw the teams go all out to find the net. BB Machaiah put Army 4-3 up but Sibren Lakra scored the equaliser with four minutes to go, through a penalty corner.
Defending champion Indian Railways will open its campaign in a Pool "A" match against Hockey Bengluru tomorrow.
Results: Pool "A" BPCL 2 (Kawaljit Singh 53m, Sher Singh 70m) bt Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 0.
Pool "B": Army XI 4 (Siraju AP 19m, Binoy Bhengra 29m, Anselm Hemrom 32m, BB Machaiah 60m) drew Hockey Odisha 4 (Cyril Lugun 42m, Sanjay Xalxo 45m, Amit Chirmako 56m, Sibren Lakra 66m).
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