Chennai, Aug 22 (PTI) After a gap of four years, the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey tournament will be held here from August 24 to September 3.

The competition was last held in 2019 with Indian Oil Corporation emerging victorious.

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A total of 10 teams have been clubbed across two groups, with the prize money for the top two sides being increased.

The winner will get INR 7 lakh while the runner-up will receive INR 5 lakh. The losing teams in the semifinal round will get INR 50,000 each.

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The tournament will be held at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here, which recently hosted the Asian Champions Trophy won by India.

"We were supposed to have it last year. However, the renovation program at the hockey stadium got delayed until this year, as there was a lot of work to be done at the venue because of three years of closure due to COVID," MCC honorary secretary R Karthik told PTI on the sidelines of the tournament announcement event at the Madras Cricket Club.

Karthik termed the competition as one of Indian hockey's ‘premier' events.

"This is one of the premier tournaments in hockey pan India over the years. It's only from this competition that some of the boys have gone on to play for the national team. It has always been a stepping stone for quite a few budding youngsters,” he said.

No top Indian talent will feature in the tournament due to the national camp ahead of the upcoming Asian Games.

Groups:

Pool A: IOC, Indian Navy, Indian Railways, Hockey Karnataka and Central Secretariat

Pool B: Punjab National Bank, Indian Army, Indian Air Force, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and Comptroller & Auditor General of India

Schedule: Group stage from August 24-31, semifinals on September 2, final on September 3.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)