Chennai, Sep 28: Madras Cricket Club and Murugappa Group are all set to host an action packed 85th MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament in Chennai from October 1st to October 11th, 2009. Ten teams from across the country will participate in this prestigious tournament and compete for the championship title on the Astro Turf grounds at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Egmore, Chennai.

The 85th edition of the national game will see the involvement of brilliant squads like Air India, Indian Overseas Bank, Karnataka XI, BPCL, ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation, Army XI, Mumbai XI, Indian Railways, Punjab National Bank. These teams will be categorized into two groups. The tournament will be played on a league cum knockout basis. The inauguration Ceremony will be held on October 1st, post which the teams will play two to three matches per day till 8th October. The top 2 teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals to be played on 10th October 2009, followed by the Finals on 11th October 2009.

The Murugappa Group, one of India's leading business conglomerates has been supporting this tournament for 85 long years and plays an instrumental role in promoting our national game across the country. The title winner will get the prize money of Rs.1, 50,000 and the runner up will be awarded Rs.1, 00,000.

Hockey fans across India can enjoy the live telecast of semi finals and final match of the tournament on DD Sports channel. - Agencies