Hockey News: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to return after a two-year break

The international competition was last held in 2019, following which it went on a two-year-long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. South Korea emerged as the winner, while India finished as runners-up at the 2019 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

An official from the Asian Hockey Federation said, "We are all set to host the Premier Azlan Shah Cup in November this year. We have invited six teams, including India and Australia and we hope our invitation will be accepted."

The tournament started as a biennial event in 1983 but later became an annual event. The inaugural edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup featured five teams. 

Australia won against Pakistan 1-0 to emerge as the champions at the competition's inaugural edition, while India finished third.

The 2022 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be held at Azlan Shah Stadium in Perak, Malaysia, from 16th to 25th November. India, New Zealand, Canada, Germany and Australia have been invited to play alongside Malaysia this year.

Record of India at Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

India has won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup five times, making them the second most successful team in the competition behind Australia with ten titles.

India won the prestigious tournament in 1985, 1991, 1995, 2009, and 2010.

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Score
1985	India	Malaysia	Round-robin
1991	India	Pakistan	Round-robin
1995	India	Germany	2-2(5-4)
2009	India	Malaysia	3-1

 

India finished the 2019 edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup as runner-up. South Africa won the championship match 4-2 after the game went into a shootout after India held them to 1-1.

The Indian defender Surender Kumar was named the tournament player. In contrast, Indian forward Mandeep Singh and Jang Jong-hyun of South Korea were the top goalscorers of the tournament with seven goals each.