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Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), Rourkela packed too many guns for Union Bank of India, handing them a 7-2 crushing defeat in the 48th Edition of the Bombay Gold Cup hockey tournament being played at the Mahindra Stadium in Mumbai.
Union Bank of India, who did well to finish fourth in the recently-concluded Super League, were up against a much superior SAIL outfit, who lived up to their billing, pumping home goals at regular intervals to enjoy an easy outing.
Alsem Lakra, Deepak Kullu and Sunil Toppo were the chief architects of SAIL’s big win, scoring a brace each, while Rajin Kandulna rattled the Union Bank cage once.
The bankmen did not go down without a fight and pulled off two goals via Diwakar Ram and Rajat Sharma.
In another match, Mumbai Super League champions Western Railway humbled Army XI 4-1. Vinod Kumar scored twice for the Railwaymen, while Ashish Pal converted a penalty corner and Jaykaran netted a field goal.
Army XI found their solace goal through Chandan Aind.
Punjab National Bank outwitted Central Railway 3-1 in the third game of the day. Yudhbir Singh score in the first half, while Jalvinder Singh and Arjun found the target in the second half.
Sashi Topno reduced the margin for Central Railway.
As many as twelve teams are taking part in this year’s edition.
The inaugural edition of the Mumbai Gold Cup was held in 1995, when Lusitanians SC cornered glory beating Nagpur-based Bhawnagar in the final.
BSF Jalandhar have won the Mumbai Gold Cup on most occasions – eight times, while Railways collectively have bagged this winning trophy seven times.
Punjab Police have won it five times while Indian Airlines have won it four times.
Central Railway, Indian Airlines and Punjab & Sind Bank have been runners-up on most occasions – each finishing second best three times.
Surprisingly, Indian Oil, touted as one of the formidable sides in the domestic circuit, have never won the Mumbai Gold Cup – they only once finished runners-up in 2003 losing to Indian Airlines in the final.
