20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup begins in Malaysia – Hockey News
The biggest tournament in the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) calendar, the 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will finally begin today at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium, in Ipoh, Malaysia.
In this year’s edition, a total of seven teams are participating, which includes the 2010 Asian Games Champion Pakistan, the World Number 1 Australia, India, Great Britain, New Zealand, Germany and the host nation Malaysia.
Three matches will take place today featuring New Zealand, Pakistan, India, Korea, Malaysia and Great Britain. The current World Number 1, Australia, is the favourite most team but New Zealand also seems in good form and is counted among the toughest contenders for the Azlan Shah Cup.
Despite the fact that India will feature with a few new faces in the tournament, it has proved its strength by recently beating New Zealand in a practice match on May 3. The Malaysian team also faced-off in a practice match against New Zealand in which both teams ended up with a draw at 2-2. As for the Pakistan men’s hockey team, the world record-holder drag-flick expert, Sohail Abbas will be a treat to watch after calling off his retirement to get back to the field.
The Kookaburras are lacking their best-of-the-best Jamie Dwyer, who is suffering from a knee injury and is on crutches. He is an asset for the team, who is being saved for the upcoming sports gala, 2012 London Olympic Games, and will be under way by the time he recovers.
This annual hockey tournament is the brainchild of the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF), commencing its 20th edition this year.
This event was first inaugurated with the name Pentangular Tournament, comprising of five nations, that was held in Kuala Lumpur from August 21-28, 1983. It was originated as a bi-annual event but since 1994 it continued to occur on an annual basis.
Each time, the event was named as per the number of nations participating or after the host city’s name. However, it was finally named after one of the Malaysian kings, Raja Sultan Azlan Shah, who headed the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) for a long period and later the MHF.
The matches that will be played at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium, Ipoh today have been scheduled as:
May 5: New Zealand v Pakistan, Korea v India and Great Britain v Malaysia
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