The Beighton Cup (also known as the Coal India Beighton Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a field hockey tournament organized by Hockey Bengal (formerly the Bengal Hockey Association). Instituted in 1895, it is one of the oldest field hockey tournaments in the world and is held every year in Kolkata.
History Aristocratic 19th century origins Instituted in 1895, the tournament's origins are steeped in both the era of British colonialism and the English aristocracy. The tournament was named after its British donor, Judge Thomas Durant Beighton of the Indian Civil Service and Legal Remembrancer to the Government of Bengal. Born in 1846, Beighton died in Gibraltar of heart failure in February 1906.
Beighton had married for a second time in 1897 and in 1898 had a son, Thomas Percival Durant Beighton (aka T.P.D. Beighton, died 1971), who was, like his father, a keen sportsman, particularly at both Winchester College and Christ Church, Oxford University. He later published his accounts as a motoring enthusiast; a sport, like cricket, that he enjoyed with his brother-in-law, John Alfred Middleton, MC, whose wedding to T.P.D. Beighton's sister, Dorothea, in London at St Peter's Church, Eaton Square had featured on the front page of the Daily Mirror on 5 January 1922. T.P.D. Beighton and Middleton had been boarders together at Winchester and then enlisted during WWI following which they both entered Christ Church, Oxford as freshmen in 1919. T.P.D. Beighton's wife, Kathleen Muriel Beighton (née Hood), was the daughter of sports benefactor Sir Joseph Hood, 1st Baronet.
Recent decades Today, the Beighton Cup hockey tournament is organised by Hockey Bengal, previously called the Bengal Hockey Association and used to be held on natural grass at the Mohun Bagan ground on the Maidan in Kolkata (earlier called Calcutta) in India. For last few years, it has been held on Astro Turf (artificial grass) at Sports Authority of India (SAI East) in Kolkata. The Beighton Cup was initially organized by the Indian Football Association, until the Bengal Hockey Association took over in 1905.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Bengal had strong teams in Kolkata such as Customs and Port Commissioners, and Bengal-Nagpur Railway in Kharagpur. It went on to win the 1952 national hockey championship held in Kolkata, defeating Punjab.
Dhyan Chand remembers In his autobiography Goal!, the legendary Dhyan Chand remembers his Beighton Cup debut. He says, "In my opinion it is perhaps the best organised hockey event in the country. Kolkata is indeed lucky that it has at least three or four first class hockey grounds on the maidan, and this is a great advantage to run a tournament on schedule. Instituted in 1895, this tournament has had a non-stop run. World Wars I and II did not affect the tournament. Threats of Japanese bombs and actual bombings in Kolkata while the hockey season was on also did not prevent the tournament from being held. That being said, it is sad to think that the tournament had to yield to the communal frenzy which gripped the nation in 1946–47."
Hockey in Kolkata Apart from the Beighton Cup, Kolkata had many firsts in hockey to its credit. The first hockey association in India was formed in 1908 — the Bengal Hockey Association. The first national hockey championship of India was held in 1928. It was called the inter-provincials, with 5 provinces of undivided India participating. The first Indian Olympic team for the Amsterdam Games was selected in Kolkata after the 1928 nationals.
Twenty-seven Olympic gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal ~ that is what Bengal's hockey can boast of. However, all that is history and Kolkata no longer has a hockey Olympian. Despite its pioneering role in the history of Indian hockey, Kolkata is the only major metropolis in India without an artificial turf. "How can you hope to produce international class players if you cannot give the players astroturf to play on?" asks Gurbux Singh, secretary of the Bengal Hockey Association. Leslie Claudius agreed that the absence of astroturf is responsible for this decline, but added: "Ours was a different era. We were successful, so the enthusiasm for the game was naturally high. How can you have that today? Even the educational institutions are not interested in hockey nowadays. But you can't blame them. Young people don't find hockey exciting enough. Maybe if we can give them astroturf, the fast surface can lure them back into the game."
Big names Leslie Claudius was the biggest name in Kolkata hockey; he played for Customs in Kolkata, and won 4 Olympic medals from 1948 to 1960 (3 gold, 1 silver).
Results The results of the Beighton Cup: YearWinnerRunner-up1895Calcutta Naval Volunteers AC18961897SPG Mission, Ranchi18981899Calcutta Rangers Club1900St. James School19011st Royal Irish Rifles1902SPG Mission, Ranchi19031904Hornets AC1905BE College, Sibpore1906SPG Mission, Ranchi19071908Calcutta Customs190919101911Calcutta Rangers Club1912Calcutta Customs1913Calcutta Rangers Club1914MAO College, AligarhAFC, Jamalpur1915Calcutta Rangers ClubCalcutta Customs1916BY Association, Lucknow1917Calcutta Rangers ClubBactetors Union (Dakha)1918BY Association, LucknowEast Indian Railway Asansol Rec. Club1919Xaverians' ClubCalcutta FC1920East Indian Railway Asansol Rec. ClubAFC, Jamalpur1921BE College, SibporeCalcutta Rangers Club1922EBR Sports ClubCalcutta Customs1923BY Association, Lucknow1924Calcutta FCAFC, Jamalpur1925Calcutta CustomsXaverians' Club1926Punjab HA1927Xaverians' ClubCalcutta Customs1928Telegraph Rec. Club1929EIR Sports Club1930Calcutta CustomsPort Commissioners1931BN Railway19321933Jhansi HeroesCalcutta Customs1934Calcutta Rangers ClubEI Railway1935Calcutta CustomsBN Railway1936Bombay CustomsCalcutta Customs1937BN RailwayBhopal Wanderers1938Calcutta CustomsBN Railway1939BN RailwayCalcutta Customs1940Bhopal WanderersBhagawant Club, Tikamgarh1941Bhopal Wanderers and Bhagawant Club, Tikamgarh were declared joint winners1942Calcutta Rangers ClubBN Railway1943BN RailwayCalcutta Rangers Club 1944Jiwaji Club, Gwalior1945Mohammedan Sporting Club1946Port CommissionersBN Railway1947 Tournament not held1948Port Commissioners and U.P. Selected XI were declared joint winners1949Tata Sports Club, BombayPunjab Sports Club1950Lusitanians, Bombay 1951Hindustan Aircraft, BangaloreBata Sports1952Mohun BaganHindustan Aircraft, Bangalore1953Tata Sports Club, BombayNagpur United1954Western Railways, Bombay1955Western Railway and U. P. XI were declared joint winners1956ServicesMohun Bagan1957East BengalMohammedan Sporting Club1958Mohun BaganCorps of Engineers, Kirkee1959Corps of Engineers, KirkeeArmy XI, New Delhi1960Mohun BaganIndian Navy1961Central Railway, BombayPunjab Police, Jalandhar1962East BengalCentral Railway, Bombay1963Central Railway, BombayEast Bengal1964East Bengal and Mohun Bagan were declared joint winners1965Mohun Bagan and Calcutta Customs were declared joint winners1966Punjab PoliceCorps of Signals, Jalandhar1967East BengalBhilai Steel Plant1968Mohun BaganBengal Nagpur Railway1969Mohun Bagan and Winners Corps of Signal were declared joint winners1970Western Railway, BombayEast Bengal1971BSF Jalandhar and Mohun Bagan were declared joint winners1972BSF, JalandharMohun Bagan1973I. H. F. Dark Blues and Mohun Bagan were declared joint winners1974Mohun BaganSikh Reg. Centre, Meerut19751976A. S. C. JalandharC.R.P.F., Delhi1977Mohun BaganWestern Railway, Bombay1978CRPF, Delhi1979Mohun Bagan and A. S. C. Jalandhar were declared joint winners1980Western Railway, BombayMohun Bagan1981I. H. F. XI, East ZoneMohammedan Sporting Club1982E. M. E. Jalandhar and Eastern Railway Ath. Asson were declared joint winners1983E. M. E. JalandharC.R.P.F., Neemuch1984Mecon Sports Club, RanchiA.S.C., Jalandhar1985Indian Airlines, Delhi1986M. E. G., Bangalore1987Bengal Nagpur Railway FCEast Bengal1988I.F.F. Co., DelhiSouthern Railway, Madras1989A. S.C., JalandharCorps of Signals, Jalandhar1990E. M. E., Jalandhar1991A. S.C., JalandharE.M.E., Jalandhar1992Army XI, JalandharA.S.C., Jalandhar1993S.A.G., Ranchi1994B. N. Railway1995Indian RailwaysIndian Airlines1996B. S. F., JalandharTamil Nadu XI1997Punjab Police, JalandharB.S.F., Jalandhar1998B. S. F., JalandharArmy XI, Jalandhar1999Punjab & Sind Bank, JalandharA.S.C., Jalandhar2000Tamil Nadu XI2001CISF, ChandigarhBorder Security Force, Jalandhar2002Punjab PoliceCRPF2003Border Security Force, JalandharIndian Oil Corporation2004Punjab & Sind BankArmy XI2005Border Security Force, Jalandhar2006Punjab & Sind BankBorder Security Force, Jalandhar2007Indian Airlines2008Punjab Police and Punjab & Sind Bank were declared joint winners2009Indian Oil CorporationSouth Central Railway2010Air IndiaCoal India2011Indian Oil CorporationONGC2012Punjab National Bank2013Army XIONGC2014Indian Oil CorporationPunjab National Bank2015Punjab National BankIndian Oil Corporation2016Indian Oil CorporationBharat Petroleum2017 Tournament not held2018Indian Oil CorporationBharat Petroleum2019Punjab National Bank2020 Tournament not held20212022Indian NavyPunjab National Bank2024Indian Oil Corporation
Performance by teams
TeamChampionshipsMohun Bagan14Calcutta Customs12Calcutta Rangers (inc. Calcutta Naval Volunteers AC)9Indian Oil Corporation7SPG Mission, Ranchi6Border Security Force, Jalandhar6BN Railway6Punjab & Sind Bank5East Bengal4Tata Sports Club, Bombay4Punjab Police4A. S. C. Jalandhar4Army XI, Jalandhar4BY Association, Lucknow3Western Railway, Bombay3E. M. E. Jalandhar3Indian Airlines, Delhi / Air India3BE College, Sibpore2Bhopal Wanderers2Port Commissioners2Xaverians' Club2U.P. XI2Central Railway, Bombay2I. H. F. Dark Blues / I. H. F. XI, East Zone2E. M. E. Jalandhar2Indian Navy2St. James School11st Royal Irish Rifles1Hornets AC1MAO College, Aligarh1East Indian Railway Asansol Rec. Club1EBR Sports Club1Calcutta FC1Telegraph Rec. Club1EIR Sports Club1Jhansi Heroes1Bombay Customs1Bhagawant Club, Tikamgarh1Hindustan Aircraft, Bangalore1Services1Corps of Engineers, Kirkee1Winners Corps of Signal1Mecon Sports Club, Ranchi1M. E. G., Bangalore1I.F.F. Co., Delhi1Indian Railways1Central Industrial Security Force, Chandigarh1Punjab National Bank1
References
Further reading (Published online: "Routledge Contemporary South Asia"; 1 July 2010).