top of page
Search

SHE turn the tables on IOB in another thriller to become the first team through to the Rela Hospital Tamil Hockey League 2026 Final

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

Updated: 10 hours ago


Field hockey players in white and black sprint after the ball on a bright blue turf field, with red stadium seats behind.

Qualifier 1 · Tamil Hockey League 2026 · SDAT Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Egmore · Monday 7 September


They had already done this once. Back on 3 September, in the last round of the Super Six, Indian Overseas Bank and Sports Hostel of Excellence traded a penalty corner each, finished level at 1–1, and IOB walked away with the shoot-out and the bonus point. Two pool winners, both unbeaten, separated by a coin toss.

Four days later, with a place in the Tamil Hockey League final on the table, they produced almost the exact same evening in a different colour. Ninety minutes of hockey across the two meetings, four goals, and still — genuinely — nothing to choose between them. This time the shoot-out fell the other way. Sports Hostel of Excellence 2–2 Indian Overseas Bank, 4–3 on the shoot-out, and it is the men in orange who go straight to the final.


The 60 minutes

The first half was a stalemate worthy of a knockout — two scoreless quarters, both goalkeepers largely untroubled, both defences refusing to give the first inch. It took until the 40th minute for someone to blink, and it was Deepak Pradhan, turning in a field goal to give Indian Overseas Bank the lead their pool-topping campaign perhaps entitled them to.


Field hockey player in white dribbles on a blue pitch, with teammates and an official behind him and red stadium seats in back.

It lasted nine minutes. S. Krishnan did what Krishnan does — stepped up to a penalty corner and rifled it home, his 14th goal of the tournament and every single one of them from a set piece. B N Chelsea Medappa answered from another corner on 54 to put IOB back in front, and with the clock running down this looked like Indian Overseas Bank's night.

Field hockey players in white and black battle for the ball on a blue turf field, with a NUO CLINIC banner in the background.

Then, at the 57th minute, a stroke. V. Aravind placed it, the umpire signalled the goal, and it was 2–2 with barely three minutes left. No further scoring. To the shoot-out — the third of this campaign to involve one of these two teams.

Min

Type

Scorer

Score

40′

Field goal

Deepak Pradhan (4), IOB

1–0 IOB

49′

Penalty corner

S. Krishnan (33), SHE

1–1

54′

Penalty corner

B N Chelsea Medappa (32), IOB

2–1 IOB

57′

Penalty stroke

V. Aravind (27), SHE

2–2


The shoot-out: 4–3, Sports Hostel

Five attempts each, running one-on-one from the 23. Harpanthpreet Singh and S. Vishal opened with goals apiece. Sumit Kindo edged IOB ahead. Then R. Velragavan missed for Sports Hostel — the first crack — only for Ashik N R to miss straight back for IOB.

That was the moment the tie turned. Indian Overseas Bank failed with two of their last three, while Sports Hostel found something at the other end: N. Aravind's run drew a penalty stroke, V. Aravind stepped up again and buried it, and K. Srinivasan made it 2–3.


Dilraj Singh kept IOB breathing at 3–3. Up last, with the final at stake, K. Gowtham did not flinch — 3–4, and Sports Hostel were through.

#

Indian Overseas Bank


Sports Hostel of Excellence


Running

1

Harpanthpreet Singh (10)

✅

S. Vishal (22)

✅

1–1

2

Sumit Kindo (8)

✅

R. Velragavan (12)

❌

2–1

3

Ashik N R (2)

❌

V. Aravind (27) (stroke)

✅

2–2

4

Deepak Pradhan (4)

❌

K. Srinivasan (4)

✅

2–3

5

Dilraj Singh (11)

✅

K. Gowtham (1)

✅

3–4

Scored: IOB — Harpanthpreet Singh, Sumit Kindo, Dilraj Singh. SHE — S. Vishal, V. Aravind, K. Srinivasan, K. Gowtham. Star of the Match: V. Aravind (27), Sports Hostel of Excellence — a penalty stroke to force the shoot-out, another to help win it.


The numbers

Still nothing between them. Two meetings this tournament, two regulation draws, one shoot-out each. Neither Indian Overseas Bank nor Sports Hostel has lost a match in normal time across the entire competition — 11 games apiece, played 11, drawn 4, won 7, lost 0. Sports Hostel simply have the shoot-out edge tonight, and it happens to be the one that mattered.

IOB v SHE, all meetings

Result

Shoot-out

Super Six SS11 · 3 Sep

1–1

IOB 4–2

Qualifier 1 · 7 Sep

2–2

SHE 4–3

The Golden Stick has co-leaders and both were on the pitch.

Krishnan's 49th-minute corner drew him level with IOB's Dilraj Singh on 14. Two very different 14s:

Smiling hockey player in black IndiaOverseas jersey gives a thumbs-up on a blue field, with a Tamil Hockey banner behind.

Dilraj's from open play and strokes, Krishnan's every one off a penalty corner.

#

Player

Team

Goals


1

Dilraj Singh

IOB

14

9 FG · 5 PS

1

S. Krishnan

SHE

14

14 PC

3

Chiran Medappa

AGS

11


4

Patras Tirkey

Indian Overseas Bank

10


5

Pruthvi G. M.

Integral Coach Factory

9


Shoot-out form this campaign: Sports Hostel now 2–1 (won SS5 and Q1, lost SS11); Indian Overseas Bank 1–2 (won SS11, lost SS9 and Q1).

Men's tournament to date: 260 goals across 46 matches, 5.7 a game — 139 field goals, 98 penalty corners, 23 strokes.


What it means


Tamil Hockey League poster of smiling Krishnan, top scorer with 14 goals, surrounded by hockey players and through-to-finals text.

Sports Hostel of Excellence are the first team into the final, and they get five days to rest, scout and wait. Indian Overseas Bank — the group's top seed, unbeaten, +9 goal difference — now take the hard road: win the Eliminator on Thursday, then win the final on Saturday, three games in a week to lift the trophy.


Upcoming

Men's knockouts

Stage

Date / time

Fixture

Stakes

Qualifier 1

Mon 7 Sep — done

SHE 2–2 IOB (SHE won S/O 4–3)

SHE → Final · IOB → Qualifier 2

Eliminator

Tue 8 Sep · 16:00 (today)

Southern Railway v AGORC Chennai

3rd v 4th — loser out, winner → Qualifier 2

Qualifier 2

Thu 10 Sep · 17:30

Indian Overseas Bank v Winner Eliminator

Winner → Final

Final

Sat 12 Sep · 17:30 (floodlights)

Sports Hostel of Excellence v Winner Qualifier 2

The title

Eliminator is the next domino, and it is a genuine 50–50: Southern Railway and AGORC Chennai finished the Super Six as mirror images — same record, same goals for, same goals against, same goal difference — split only by a single bonus point. Their one meeting went Railway's way, 2–0 in SS8. Whoever survives Tuesday runs straight into a wounded Indian Overseas Bank.


Women's League

Round-robin, four teams, six matches. SRM IST and SHE Chennai both opened with shut-out wins; SDAT Pudukottai and SDAT Tiruvannamalai are still looking for their first points. No women's matches on 9 September.

Girls play field hockey on blue turf, one in yellow dribbles between two blue-clad defenders, with league banners behind.

Match

Date

Time

Fixture

W3

Tue 8 Sep

14:00

SHE Chennai v SDAT Pudukottai

W4

Thu 10 Sep

15:30

SDAT Pudukottai v SDAT Tiruvannamalai

W5

Fri 11 Sep

15:30

SRM IST v SDAT Tiruvannamalai

W6

Sat 12 Sep

15:30

SRM IST v SHE Chennai

Women's table after W2: 1. SRM IST 3 pts (+8) · 2. SHE Chennai 3 pts (+4) · 3. SDAT Tiruvannamalai 0 (−4) · 4. SDAT Pudukottai 0 (−8). W6 — SRM IST v SHE Chennai on the final day — already looks like it could decide top spot. 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