Shivendra Shines as Air India Lift Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup
Bhopal — A sparkling two goal effort by world cup star Shivendra Singh saw Air India script a 5-0 win over BPCL in the finals of the All India Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup Hockey Tournament on Monday evening.
Playing before a capacity crowd at the floodlit Aishbagh stadium, Lalit Upadhyaya’s 14th minute goal put Air India in the lead before forays by skipper Sameer Dad, Dhanraj Pillai and Shivendra tore through the BPCL defences in the second half.
Shivendra earned the man of the match trophy for his performance that led Air India (formerly Indian Airlines) to their seventh championship win.
Earlier, IOC beat PSB 2-0 in the play-off for the third position.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan presented the gold cup and a cash prize of Rs. 5 Lakh to Air India while runners up BPCL received a trophy and a cash reward of Rs. three lakh.
Keeping a recent promise, Chouhan also presented a cheque worth Rs. 18 lakh for the goals scored by members of the national hockey squad during the recent FIH World Cup.
