Cheerful moments from the presentation ceremony ONGC beat IOC in an enthralling Finale of the All India Public Sector Sports Promotion Board (AIPSSPB) Hockey Tournament at Amritsar on October 6, 2013. CMD ONGC & President AIPSSPB Mr Sudhir Vasudeva, who was also the Chief Guest on the occasion, witnessed the thrilling encounter between the two arch-rivals of the sporting arena. A day before the finals, Head Sports Mr V.K. Mahendru had a brief tete-a-tete with the team and motivated the players to perform to their potential and win the title. The tournament was hosted by ONGC and held from October 1-6, 2013 at the Guru Nanak Dev University Hockey Ground in Amritsar. Six member organisations viz. Air India, IOC, NLC, FCI, IOB and ONGC participated in the tournament. ONGC overcame some stiff challenges enroute to clinching the title. In a highly exciting and nail biting final, hosts ONGC beat IOC 6-5 to clinch the coveted title. Gurjant Singh drew first blood for ONGC while Didar Singh restored parity for IOC. In the second half, penalty corner specialist Diwakar Ram scored with his trademark drag flick, once again putting ONGC in the driver’s seat. However the lead was snatched away by IOC skipper Deepak Thakur just minutes before the end of regulation time and levelled the scores 2-2 thus pushing the match into a penalty shootout. In the tense penalty shootout that followed, IOC’s Inderjit Singh buckled under pressure and missed his strike while Diwakar Ram of ONGC maintained his cool to score the winning goal and title for ONGC. ONGC’s skipper Tyron Pereira was adjudged “Man of the Tournament”. Earlier, team ONGC had grown from strength to strength during the course of the tournament and in the semi-final match outwitted the star studded team from Air India.

Mr Sudhir Vasudeva congratulated the winners and expressed his happiness seeing ONGC emerge champions. Mr Vasudeva also lauded IOC’s fighting spirit and wished them good luck for their future endeavours. Mr Mahendru who was also present on the occasion expressed his delight at the team ONGC’s excellent performance. The win adds one more feather to the cap of ONGC Hockey team led by GC hockey Rajdeep Singh.Mr Sudhir Vasudeva, CMD ONGC along with Mrs Rekha Vasudeva and the triumphant ONGC Hockey team members.