MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup: Hat-trick of titles big achievement for Railways, says coach Sunil
It was a nervous last few minutes in the fourth quarter for the Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) against the Indian Navy hockey team. The team was a man short on the field after Darshan Gawkar’s yellow card for a counter-attack-stopping trip on Rajat Sharma.
With just three minutes to go before the final whistle, after preventing another wave of attack from the opponent, captain Sayyad Niyaz Rahim found himself in space at the edge of the penalty circle.
As Simranjot Singh’s pass lobbed up off the defender’s stick towards him, a single swoosh of the stick propelled the ball to the bottom corner to seal the fate of the match and with it a third-straight MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup title for RSPB.
“A hat-trick of titles is a big achievement for us. I had full faith in my team from the first day of the tournament and knew that we would come back after a below-par opening match [2-1 win over Indian Army] and would get better step by step,” said coach Sunil Kumar Singh.
The final was a clash of two game plans, with the Navy team looking to fight RSPB’s possession-dominant style with quick counters and long passes into the circle.
“We were in control of the game from start to finish. We knew the opposition would be dependent on the slapshot. We only had to make sure we block that once they enter the 25 yards,” Sunil explained.
“We knew that we would score in the last five minutes. We just had to make sure that we don’t concede. Our setup was going perfectly well. We had confidence in our midfielders and forwards to do the job,” he added.
RSPB’s success in the tournament – a fifth final in seven editions and a sixth title since 1996 – can be credited to the side’s meticulous preparation in the off-season.
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“The Railways conducts camps ahead of all main events. We have our base at the Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, where we prepare ahead of tournaments in the north. For Murugappa and other competitions in the south, we practice in Hyderabad. We had a month-long camp ahead of this tournament,” skipper Sayyad said.
RSPB came into the 95th edition of the tournament this year, without the lynchpins of last season’s tournament triumph – Yuvraj Walmiki and Joginder Singh. But, Sunil said he had complete trust in his team’s squad to get the job done.
“Indian Railways has a core group of 50 players, and we are equipped to deal with injuries and loss of form. In our camps, we make sure that our combination doesn’t get disrupted with the rotation of players,” the coach said.
Coach Sunil also heaped praise on the facilities at the season-opening tournament, especially the availability of referrals.
“This is India’s top domestic tournament. Nowhere else in India do we get to play with the option of video referrals, not even in our department nationals. This should set a precedent for all other domestic events,” he added.