top of page
Search

Rela Hospital - THL, Super Six bows out with Indian Overseas Bank and Sports Hostel locked together at the top and a knockout week to settle the lot.

  • Dr Prakash Ayyadurai
  • 14 hours ago
  • 5 min read

Field hockey players in orange and blue battle for the ball on a bright blue pitch, with water spray and SHE 22 visible.

Rela Hospital – Tamil Hockey League 2026 · Super Six final report, SS14 & SS15 · Saturday 5 September, Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Egmore


The group stage of the Tamil Hockey League Super Six ended the way it spent most of its life — with the two best teams a fraction apart and everyone else scrapping for what was left. On Saturday, Sports Hostel of Excellence signed off unbeaten with a clean sheet, and Indian Overseas Bank answered with a six-goal statement and a Dilraj Singh hat-trick that also flipped the Golden Stick race on its final afternoon. Both finished on twelve points. One goal of difference separates them going into the knockouts.


Saturday's results

SS14 — Sports Hostel of Excellence 2–0 Integral Coach Factory

Team

Scorers

Sports Hostel of Excellence

K. Srinivasan (FG 21'); S. Manikandan (FG 59')

Integral Coach Factory

—

A tidy, controlled finish. Two field goals, front and back of the game, and a clean sheet — Sports Hostel's second of the group.

Field hockey players in orange and navy battle for the ball on a blue turf field; Tamil Hockey League banners in the stadium.

Integral Coach Factory, who had drawn three of their first four, lost their first Super Six match at the worst possible time and slipped to fifth.


Two men on a blue hockey pitch hold a trophy, with red stadium seats and Tamil Hockey League signs behind them.

Star of the Match: Sahil (#24), ICF, who kept the score down almost single-handedly.


SS15 — Indian Overseas Bank 6–2 AGORC Chennai

Team

Scorers

Indian Overseas Bank

Dilraj Singh (FG 4', 38'; PS 19'); S. Lakshmanan Sri (FG 8'; PC 55'); Patras Tirkey (PC 10')

AGORC Chennai

Chiran Medappa (FG 44'); Veerathamizhan (FG 52')


Field hockey players in helmets crouch on blue turf inside a netted cage, with red stadium seats and sponsor boards behind them.

Indian Overseas Bank were 4–0 up inside 20 minutes and never looked back.

Field hockey goalkeeper in black and yellow blocks near the goal as a player in white and orange approaches on a blue field.

Dilraj Singh's hat-trick — two from open play, one from the spot — took his tournament tally to fourteen and, with it, the lead in the Golden Stick.

Two men smile on a blue hockey field as one presents a small trophy with a pink ball; red stadium seats blur in back.

Lakshmanan Sri scored twice and took the individual award. AGORC's two second-half goals were a footnote; the result confirmed them fourth and IOB top.


The final Super Six table

#

Team

P

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

B

Pts

1

IOB

5

3

2

0

17

8

+9

1

12

2

SHE

5

3

2

0

15

7

+8

1

12

3

SRL

5

2

1

2

10

13

−3

1

8

4

AGS

5

2

1

2

10

13

−3

0

7

5

ICF

5

1

3

1

7

10

−3

1

6

6

IND

5

0

0

5

11

19

−8

0

0

Win = 3, draw = 1, shoot-out win after a draw = +1 bonus. Ranked on points, then goal difference. Top four advance to the knockouts, seeded 1–4.


The four who go through

Hockey team poses on blue turf in stadium, holding sticks, with TamilManninHockey banner and empty seats behind.

1 · Indian Overseas Bank (12 pts, +9) — the most complete side in the group. Unbeaten, three wins, the group's most productive attack (17 goals) built around Dilraj Singh and the Tirkey–Pradhan–Lakshmanan Sri penalty-corner unit. They saved their best for last.




Men's field hockey team in orange EXCELLENCE jerseys pose on blue turf with coaches and sticks in a stadium

2 · Sports Hostel of Excellence (12 pts, +8) — the group's best defence, seven conceded in five, unbeaten, and level on points with IOB. Only goal difference — and a single goal at that — keeps them off top spot. The first-time entrants finish the toughest part of the tournament without losing a game.




Hockey players high-five on a blue field as a referee stands बीच them; Tamil Mannin Hockey banner and sponsor boards behind.

3 · Southern Railway (8 pts, −3) — the comeback of the competition. Zero points after two matches, then a win, a shoot-out bonus and a 4–3 thriller against Indian Bank. From last to third in a week.



Tamil Nadu field hockey players in purple huddle around a goalie in blue on a bright blue turf, with a red Hockey banner.

4 · AGORC Chennai (7 pts, −3) — steady rather than spectacular, carried by Chiran Medappa, who sits third in the Golden Stick. A heavy last-day defeat took some shine off the campaign, but they held on to fourth.


Missed out: Integral Coach Factory (6 pts) — three of five drawn, no win after SS6; the draw specialists never found the killer result.

Bottom: Indian Bank — the defending champions, beaten in all five, nineteen conceded, a title defence to forget.


The numbers, Super Six (all 15 matches)

Metric

Value

Goals

70 — 4.7 per game

Goal types

Field 36 · Penalty corner 28 · Penalty stroke 6

Regulation draws

4 (SS5, SS9, SS11, SS12)

Shoot-outs won

SHE, ICF, IOB, SRL — one each

Clean sheets

2 — SRL 2–0 AGORC (SS8), SHE 2–0 ICF (SS14)

Hat-tricks

3 — Tirkey (SS1), Krishnan (SS2), Dilraj Singh (SS15)

Most goals

Indian Overseas Bank, 17

Most conceded

Indian Bank, 19

Named goalscorers

26

The group opened at 5.4 goals a game across the first seven matches and closed at 4.7 across fifteen — it got tighter as the stakes rose. And open play pulled clear of the drag-flick: 36 field goals to 28 penalty corners, having been level at the halfway mark.

Across the whole of THL 2026 (league stage + Super Six, 45 matches): 256 goals, 5.7 a game — Field 138 · PC 96 · PS 22.


Golden Stick

(league stage + Super Six, after the group stage)

Field hockey goalie in black and yellow blocks a shot as an orange-clad player swings on a blue turf field; Uniscans & Labs sign.
Dilraj (IOB) enroute to his 14th goal via a penalty stroke

#

Player

Team

Goals

Note

1

Dilraj Singh

Indian Overseas Bank

14

9 FG, 5 PS — SS15 hat-trick to go top

2

S. Krishnan

Sports Hostel of Excellence

13

all 13 penalty corners

3

Chiran Medappa

AGORC Chennai

11

8 FG, 2 PC, 1 PS

4

Patras Tirkey

Indian Overseas Bank

10

incl. six Super Six penalty corners

5

Pruthvi G. M.

Integral Coach Factory

9

all penalty corners

6

Shanmugam P (SRL) · B. Sathish (IND)


8


Krishnan hadn't scored since SS11, and on the last day it cost him the lead — Dilraj Singh's treble took him from level to one clear. Four of the top five (Dilraj, Krishnan, Tirkey, Chiran Medappa) are still playing. With the knockouts to come, this one isn't finished.


What's left? The knockouts and Floodlight Finale.

Round

Date

Time

Match

Qualifier 1

Mon 7 Sep

4:00 PM

Indian Overseas Bank (1) v Sports Hostel of Excellence (2)




Winner → Final · Loser → Eliminator

Qualifier 2

Tue 8 Sep

4:00 PM

Southern Railway (3) v AGORC Chennai (4)




Winner → Eliminator

Eliminator

Thu 10 Sep

5:30 PM

Loser of Qualifier 1 v Winner of Qualifier 2




Winner → Final

Floodlight Final

Sat 12 Sep

5:30 PM

Winner of Qualifier 1 v Winner of the Eliminator

It's a format that rewards the top two. Indian Overseas Bank and Sports Hostel meet in Qualifier 1 knowing the loser still has a lifeline through the Eliminator. Southern Railway and AGORC have none — lose Qualifier 2 and the tournament is over.


THL 2026 so far, and what lies ahead


It has been a month of the order turning over. The league stage produced 186 goals across 30 matches; the Super Six added 70 in 15. The defending champions, Indian Bank, went from holding the trophy to five straight defeats and last place. First-time sides reshaped the top of the table, and Sports Hostel of Excellence came through the group without losing a game. Southern Railway staged the comeback of the tournament. And the hockey hardened as it went — a shootfest in week one, a war of attrition by the end, four matches settled on shoot-outs.


Now it comes down to five nights under the lights. Qualifier 1 is a Final in all but name — the two best teams in the competition, level on points, one goal of difference between them, one game to decide who gets the short route to Saturday and who takes the hard road. Southern Railway and AGORC will back themselves to gatecrash via the Eliminator, but the logical Final is Indian Overseas Bank against Sports Hostel of Excellence, round two. And at the top of the scoring chart, Dilraj Singh has a lead of one and every reason to keep going.


Follow the Action

Stadium entry is free for all. Tamil Hockey League 2026 — All for Hockey, Hockey for All. Presented by Rela Hospital · Live broadcast by i1 Sports · Organised by Hockey Tiruvallur.

Comments

bottom of page