Melbourne, September 29 ( ) The International Melbourne Hockey Cup 2023 inaugurated in the Melbourne (Australia) by Olympian Sohail Abbas, the former captain of the Pakistan hockey team, who holds an important place in the world hockey. At the inauguration of the said tournament which started at Sports Center Parkville in Melbourne, Sohail Abbas said that it is commendable to hold such a hockey event in a foreign land and future generations will benefit greatly from it and the Punjabi community will make an important place in Australian hockey. In the opening match, Punjab Giants beat BOP Tigers (New Zealand) 5-1 to get three points. Bharat Thakur scored the first hat-trick of the tournament for the winning team. In the second match, MSU Warriors Melbourne beat MSU Strikers 4-1. Adelaide Sikhs beat MSU Challengers 7-1 to secure three points. Cragieburn Falcons beat Latrobe Valley 5-3 after a hard fought game. In the women's competition, Latrobe Valley beat Cragieburn Falcons 3-1 to take the three points. In the Juniors Under 14 category, Caroline Springs defeated Cragieburn Falcons 13-0. While the competition between Essendon Hockey and Cragieburn Falcons was tied at 1-1. During the opening ceremony, the chief guest Sohail Abbas also revealed the winner's trophy of the tournament. Officials of Hockey Victoria were also specially present on this occasion.
