Team Coorg Oman, consisting of expats Indians in Oman defeated another Indian expat outfit, United Thalassery Sports Club (UTSC) 2-0 in the final to get top honours of the Gulf Hockey Fiesta 2017 held in Muscat, Oman, recently.
Eleven club teams from Gulf and an Indian NGO team One Thousand Hockey Legs (OTHL) took part in the six-a-side Fiesta organized by the UTSC, Oman.
By far the best team there, the Team Coorg Oman, trained by veteran Belu Kuttapa, thus successfully defended the title with all win record.
Starting with 9-0 rout of Ali Sidab, Team Coorg Oman went on to beat KSA Damam 3-1, Falcons 4-1 and Muscat Foxes 3-2 in the league before coming up with a convincing 4-2 win over Saham Sports Club in the quarter final and KSA Damam 6-3 in the semi-final.
The host team on the other hand had anxious moments before reaching the final, penalty shoot out in the quarterfinal against Naqi Strikers-Saudi (5-4) being the icing on the cake. However, despite struggling to score till the dying moments they came out with a thumping 3-0 victory over visiting OTHL in the semis.
Though started losing the first match, OTHL recovered fast to win next three matches including the quarters (2-0).
Mooni of Coorg team Oman won the Best Player of the tournament award while Deepanshu Kumar of OTHL got the Best Goalkeeper label.
Presenting the winners trophy, captain Talib Al Waihabi, Chairman of the Oman Hockey Association, said: “This Fiesta provided exciting hockey. I am particularly happy that a school hockey tournament was also organized simultaneously. I wish more and more Asian expats join the mainstream to scale up Oman hockey in future”.
“We involved families, schools and veterans in the Fiesta. We learnt and played hockey in India and continue to cherish the sport here. The success of the event motivates us to expand our activities further”, said Javis Ahmad, UTSC Secretary.
Gulf Hockey Fiesta is a sanctioned event of Asian Hockey Federation.
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