Sultan Azlan Shah Cup losing its due status
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is the lone hockey event in Asia, which is being held on a regular basis. This tournament has contributed a lot in the development of Asian hockey. It has always been a very planned and organized tournament and this year was no different.
Every feature of the event went well - specifically the amenities for the media were tremendous. The media coordinator, Mr Jaswant Singh, did a comprehensive and professional job. However, time has now come to streamline the format of this leading Asian hockey tournament.
A tournament that was initiated as a competitive hockey forum has gradually but certainly become a feel-good event. A majority of the teams generally participate with their second-string sides in the tournament. Almost all of the participating teams are using it as a forum to test their young talent along with developing newer team combinations. In this way, the tournament is losing the prestige that all such international tournaments usually enjoy.
Tournaments such as the Hockey World Cup and the Champions Trophy have garnered a lot of respect from every participating team. Reasons are not hard to find.
The right marketing has developed value in the eyes of the developed hockey playing nations. If certain tournaments are hard to win, the underdog teams push in a lot of effort to create upsets. Maintaining standards are another important area where the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament can learn. Diminishing standards of hockey in Pakistan and India have resulted in weak national teams. After Asian Games, Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is the leading tournament in this Asian region. This is the right time to give the Azlan Shah Cup, the status and importance it deserves rather than making it a trialing and joyriding forum.
It is now losing its appeal and prestige that other such international events automatically enjoy. All the teams, except for Egypt, used this tournament to test its young talent for the future. Sultan Azlan Shah personally invited Egypt to provide them international exposure. The recently concluded event in Ipoh was missing the competitive edge. It is sad to see that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) is using this tournament as a forum to provide exposure to its new lot of umpires. Throughout this tournament, the umpiring remained incredibly sub-standard and shoddy.
How can a major international tournament achieve its appropriate status with such non-serious and unprofessional approach, lack of competitive edge and sub-standard umpiring?
As a result, all the capital spent by the participating teams and the organizers on this prestigious Asian hockey event is proving to be a waste of time. It would be far more productive to confine this tournament to Asian hockey teams such as India, Pakistan, South Korea, Malaysia, China and Japan, to make it more interesting. To regain its competitive sharpness, the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament should include attractive prizes for the winners as well.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) should be asked to appoint its finest international umpires for this tournament to improve its status. Modern tools to prevent rain interruptions should be adopted by the organizers, as Malaysia witnesses’ heavy rains. Providing a crash covering system is the foremost step to be taken in this regard. In this way, the whole turf can be covered up as soon as the rain starts. There should also be a water sucking system in place, just like the ones used in cricket grounds.
The effort and money now being put into this tournament must be used effectively to make it really valuable. Pampering the needs of Asia, and not other countries, should be the prime objective of this event. The organizing committee should realize its mistakes, as it doesn’t take much time for an event to become a fruitless exercise for most teams. Pakistan, Australia and India have shown a dangerous aptitude to field weaker sides in the Azlan Shah Tournament. Things need to improve for the better; otherwise the tournament may just become another b-grade exercise in the excessively busy calendar in world hockey.
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