Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup-Not a fitting end
After an amazing tournament that saw everything from down to some amazing performances by unexpected teams, the 19th version of the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament ended in a disappointment as the final could not be completed due to bad weather. The final was played between the Indian team, who were the best team throughout the tournament and the mighty Koreans who had marginally qualified to the final after overtaking the Australians through goal difference. Although the final couldn’t take place however previously India had beaten Korea in the league stage.
This meant that the Indians were the favourites coming into the match but given the late bloom of the Korean team into the tournament. One was expecting an exciting match up. The Australians, who defeated the hosts, took Malaysia the third position. The match was initially tight but the expected victors were too strong for the novice Malaysians, who were feeding on the crowd support to stage as if they were upset. The Australian team was the biggest disappointment of the tournament, as everyone was expecting the world champs to cruise through the tournament. They opened weakly against minnows Egyptians as they won only by a difference of 4 goals, while the other teams capitalized their match up against the African team to boost their goal differences.
Their only loss in the tournament also came against India while they only managed to draw against the Pakistanis and the Koreans. This meant that they were tied against Malaysia and Korea with 11 points each and the final spot going to the team with the best goal difference, which was not Australia. Korea was expected to play well, and they stood up to the expectations by reaching the final. They played some really good matches in between, as they drew their match against Australia, and defeated the young Pakistani team by the required goal difference of two goals. It was unfortunate that they did not get the chance to avenge their defeat against India.
Pakistan was another surprise of the tournament. Although they ended up as the fifth best team of the tournament, there were some brilliant performances they showed in between. After a slow start to the tournament they started to feel comfortable in the middle part when they came back from 3 goals down to draw level against the World Champions, Australia. They also defeated the minnows comfortably. If it wasn’t for their controversial defeat against Korea in the last match of the league stages they could have even made it to the finals. The team was inexperienced and young, but they used the exuberance of youth to their advantage and played fearlessly to put up some good performances.
At the end of the day the one team that really stood up were the Asian giants India. They had the perfect blend of youth and experience. Not only did they defeat the world champions but won all of their important matches, losing only to Malaysia on the way. Had the weather been kind to them, they would have lifted the trophy, and that too only by themselves.
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