Former India hockey captain Pargat Singh to be chief guest at Melbourne Hockey Cup

THE inaugural Melbourne Hockey Cup will be played at Melbourne Sports Centre Parkville in Melbourne, Australia, between September 23 and 25, and the organisers have invited former India hockey captain and Olympian Pargat Singh as the chief guest at the event, NRI Affairs website reported.

Singh, who is currently a lawmaker of the Indian National Congress in his home state of Punjab and also served as a cabinet minister in the state in the recent past, led the Indian hockey team in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.

Former Pakistan hockey captain Waseem Ahmad will also present as a guest of honour at the tournament.

According to a media statement released by Gurdeep Singh and Manpreet Singh, members of the tournament’s organising committee, eight teams will take part for the top honour and some of the top players in Australia will be seen in action.

The teams will be divided into two groups with the top two teams from each qualifying for the semi-finals.

The tournament will be played under the rules of Federation of International Hockey (FIH) and supervision of international umpires.

Besides trophies and medals, the winners will also be given cash awards.