Indian Navy clinched the 97th All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey title, beating Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) 5-4 in a penalty shootout at the SDAT Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Sunday.

The final went into sudden death after both sides converted four of their five attempts. Navy goalkeeper Ankit Malik then came up with a crucial save, denying Sudeep Chirmako before Kuldeep scored to seal the title.

The teams were locked 1-1 in regulation time.

The contest was closely fought, with both teams struggling to convert their penalty-corners and other close chances. Navy took the lead in the 14th minute when Abhishek Topno finished off a pass from Pawan Rajbhar, who had combined with Sundra Pandi to advance down the left.

BPCL goalkeeper Vikas Dahiya kept his side in the contest, blocking Harjeet Singh’s close-range effort in the 21st minute. BPCL eventually drew level in the final seconds of the first half, with Anmol Ekka scoring off the second of two successive penalty corners.

Neither side could find a breakthrough in the third quarter despite earning two penalty corners apiece. The deadlock continued through the final quarter.

For Navy Ashis Topno, Pawan Rajbhar, For Kuldeep, and K. Selvaraj scored in the first five attempts, while Charanjeet Singh, Sudeep Chirmako, Harjeet Singh, and Devindar Walmiki found the net for BPCL. Deepak Pradhan missed for BPCL and Yogesh Singh for Navy.

The result (final): Indian Navy 1 (Abhishek Topno 14) drew with BPCL 1 (Anmol Ekka 30-pc). Navy won 5-4 in the shootout.