Indian Air Force defeats Navy to win Arjan Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament

NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) defeated the Indian Navy 2-1 on Friday to win the seventh Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament, capping an unbeaten run in the defense services competition held at Air Force Station Jalahalli.

The tournament, which ran from June 23 to July 3 at the Amit Singh Bakshi Hockey Stadium, featured 16 teams competing over 11 days. The Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy advanced to the final after progressing through the knockout stages.

The championship match remained closely contested before the Air Force scored two goals to secure a narrow victory over the Navy, which fought back with one goal but was unable to force an equalizer.

Sergeant Anand Lakra of the Indian Air Force was named Man of the Match for his performance in the final, while AGV (S) Agyapal of the Air Force received the Player of the Tournament award for his consistent performances throughout the competition.

The tournament concluded with a closing ceremony attended by Air Marshal Seethepalli Shrinivas, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Training Command, who presented the trophies and congratulated the participating teams.

Indian hockey player Baljeet Kaur and former India goalkeeper and Olympic medalist PR Sreejesh attended the ceremony as guests of honour.

The Indian Air Force received the championship trophy and a cash prize of ₹10 lakh, while the runner-up Indian Navy was awarded ₹8 lakh.

Named in memory of Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh, the tournament is one of the Indian Air Force’s premier sporting events and aims to promote competitive hockey while fostering sportsmanship among the armed forces and civilian teams.