Bhopal: CM to inaugurate Obaidullah Khan Heritage Cup today, tourney being held after 6 yrs

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is all set to inaugurate Obaidullah Khan Heritage Cup today at Major Dhyanchand Hockey stadium here.

Minister of sports Yashodhara Raje Scindia will preside over the inaugural ceremony that will be streamed live over the social media platforms of department of sports and department of public relations in Madhya Pradesh.

The tournament, which is being held after a gap of six years, was first launched as Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup in 1931 and was last played in 2016.

Indian Oil, Indian Railways, Punjab and Sind Bank, Army XI, MP Hockey Academy, Comptroller General of India, GST and Central Excise Chennai, Punjab Police, Indian Navy, Army Green, Central Secretariat and Hockey MP will take part in the tournament.

The department of sports has arranged for the food, lodging and conveyance of the players participating in the tournament and their team officials.

Scindia said, “It gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction to be able to relaunch such an esteemed tournament of our national sport. Many players who lost a lot during covid19 will get a chance to bounce back with the tournament. It will give our nation new champion players.”

The last chapter of the tournament played in 2016, which was played after a gap of five years, had Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited as the champion. Before that, Air India was crowned champion in 2011.

Prize money:

Winner: Rs 11 lakh

Runner-up: Rs 7 lakh

2nd Runner-up: Rs 3 lakh

3rd Runner-up: Rs 1.5 lakh

Individual prizes:

Player of the match (league): Rs 5,000

Player of the match (semifinals, final, hard line): Rs 10,000

Player of the tournament: Rs 10,000

Best Goalkeeper: Rs 10,000

Best Deep Defender: Rs 10,000

Best Midfielder: Rs 10,000

Best Forward: Rs 10,000

Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy team:

Hemant Dhanraj Singh (Goalkeeper), Aman Khan (Goalkeeper), Telam Priyabarta, Saurabh Pasine, Kashif Khan, Sundaram Singh Rajawat, Anil, Saddam Ahmed, Luv Kumar Kanojia (Captain), Konan Dad, Himanshu Sainik, Rajat, Deepak Sharma, Haider Ali, Shrey Dhupe, Ali Ahmed, Mudassar Qureshi, Thonaojamainglemba Luwang

Hockey MP team:

Abhijeet Mahor, Akshat Yadav, Shailendra Bundela, Anurag Vishwakarma, Harshit Rajak, Ayush Pethe, Pawan Sahni, Md Shakir, Ayush Dubey, Swapnil Kavadkar, Shwetank James, Soan Gadwin, Shubham Lahoriya, Shivam Sondhiya, Vivian Ram, Aditya Kshetri, Shubham Pasi, Shubham Bahamare