Defending champions Royal vie for fourth successive Blue & Gold Hockey 7s trophy

Friday, 11 October 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Royal College hockey team will compete for their fourth consecutive champion title in this year’s Blue & Gold Hockey 7s tournament that will be held over the weekend at Royal College hockey grounds.

Royal, the host, have won the three consecutive years in the all-island inter school event organised by Royal College Hockey Club (RCHC) for the 11th successive year. It defended the title last year by defeating Vijaya College, Matale by two goals to one. Pushpadana Vidyalaya, Kandy, which won the last year’s final by 4-1 against Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya, Nawala, will defend its champion title under the girls category in the tournament, introduced to enhance the standards of the game Sri Lanka excelled in 1960s. The two-day annual event, sponsored by Singer Sri Lanka for the 11th year, will see the participation of 58 teams in both boys and girls categories from all the main hockey playing schools across the country. The cup winners from both girls and boys categories will get a sponsorship package from the main sponsor Singer Sri Lanka and the top players will be rewarded with scholarships by the co-sponsor E-SOFT Metro Campus to pursue academic careers. With the support of both the Sri Lanka Hockey federation and the Sri Lanka Schools Hockey Association, this year’s tournament will see 140 games in three different grass courts under cup, bowl and plate categories. The second day games will be telecast live on the Carlton Sports Network (CSN), Sri Lanka’s prime sports television channel.