46th annual MHA-Iodex 7-a-side Hockey Tournament on Sunday

Thursday, 12 December 2024 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

From left: MHA Secretary M. Hanaz, Tournament Director Christo Tisera, President V. Balagobi, main sponsor Iodex Spray by Haleon Lanka Director – Commercial Manjula Weerakoon, and co-sponsor Brown & Co. Product Manager Vishwa Prabath

The Mercantile Hockey Association (MHA) will hold the 46th annual 7-a-side Hockey Tournament, on Sunday, 15 December, at the P. Sara Oval ground.

With over 250 players from 27 teams expected to participate, the tournament promises to deliver exceptional displays of talent. Among the participants are Junior and Senior players from Sri Lanka’s national hockey teams, competing for their respective organisations.

This year’s tournament will feature five divisions, showcasing fierce competition among some of the country’s top teams.

Division ‘A’ competed for the Dennis de Rosayro Trophy, which is sponsored by Janashakthi Insurance Co., Ltd. The teams in contention are Hatton National Bank, Sampath Bank, Browns Group, MAS Holdings, and Commercial Bank.

Division ‘B’ will include Hayleys, HSBC, Seylan Bank, John Keells, CIAP, and SLT-Mobitel vying for the Singer Trophy, while Singer, NTB, and Orient will contest in Division ‘C’ for the MHA Trophy.

Division ‘D’, where six teams will be in fray for the Edmund J. Cooray Trophy, will include DPMC, Ceylon Tobacco Co. Ltd, Hemas Group, Airport Aviation, Inqube Solutions Ltd., and Future Life Investment Ltd.

Teams competing for the MHA President’s Trophy are Commercial Bank ‘B’, Sampath Bank ‘B’, Browns Group ‘B’, MAS Holdings ‘B’, John Keells ‘B’, and HNB ‘B’.

The tournament is set to start off at 7:30 a.m. with the final matches scheduled to begin from 3 p.m., and the organisers have slotted the Division ‘A’ final to be played at 3:30 p.m. With the grand awards ceremony to follow, the MHA’s 2024 calendar will culminate with the prestigious 7-a-side event.

The title sponsor and main sponsor of the event is Iodex Spray by Haleon Lanka Ltd. Browns Group and Bawwa Bites have come aboard as co-sponsors, further supporting the tournament’s success.

The event will be graced by Chief Guest Haleon Lanka Ltd. Director – Commercial Manjula Weerakoon, alongside Brown & Company PLC Pharmaceuticals, Consumer, and Integrated Engineering Solutions Cluster Chief Operating Officer Mangala Wijesinghe as Guest of Honour.

Inaugurated in 1973, this historic tournament has been a cornerstone of the country’s annual hockey calendar, uninterrupted for 45 years, apart from a brief hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Renowned as the signature event of the MHA’s event calendar, the competition remains as the only 7-a-side hockey tournament in the country with such a long and distinguished history.