30 March,2010 07:38 AM IST | | MiD DAY Correspondent
A sterling two-goal effort by national team member Shivendra Singh saw a Air India essay a 5-0 victory over BPCL in the finals of the All India Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup Hockey Tournament on Monday.
Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan with the Air India team
Dominating proceedings before a capacity crowd at the floodlit Aishbagh stadium, Lalit Upadhyaya found the BPCL goal in the 14th minute to end the first half with a single goal lead for Air India.
Firing out all cylinders in the second half, skipper Sameer Dad, Dhanraj Pillai and Shivendra scored with relative ease to lead Air India (formerly known as Indian Airlines) to their seventh championship win.
Shivendra's effort won him the man of the match trophy.
Earlier, IOC beat PSB 2-0 in the play-off for the third position. In a colourful post-match ceremony, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan presented the trophy and a cash prize of Rs 5 Lakh to the winning side while runners up BPCL earned a trophy and a cash prize of Rs. 3 lakh.
On the occasion, Chouhan also presented a cheque for Rs 18 lakh as prize money for the goals scored by members of the national hockey squad during the recent FIH World Cup.
Comatose since 2002, the All India Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup Hockey Tournament was revived this year by some well-meaning interventions by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan Government in Madhya Pradesh that ensured the return of hockey to the Aishbagh stadium.
Traditionally organized by the Bhopal Hockey Association (BHA), this, the 64th edition of the tournament was managed by the sports and youth welfare department, much to the approval of hockey lovers in the city - in whom, the floodlit Aishbagh stadium rekindles memories of Bhopal's glorious hockeying past.
Once regarded as the sport's biggest citadel outside of Punjab, the city hockey scene has hit its lowest ebb, with youngsters staying away from the sport that no longer attracts employers, like Indian Airlines (now Air India) or the Railways, to the city.
