Ipoh will be the focus of world hockey fans when the prestigious tournament, the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, takes place here with the presence of star-studded teams.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual invitational hockey tournament that is also recognized by the International Hockey Federation.
The tournament, which will take place from November 1 to 10, involves the participation of six teams, including Malaysia as the host.
The teams will be South Korea, South Africa, Canada, Japan and Pakistan.
The president of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation, Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said this edition of the tournament will also be a warm-up field for the national team before playing in the Asian Cup.
“After being delayed for almost two years due to the previous Covid-19 pandemic, we are happy that the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be held again.
“This edition of the tournament is more unique as it will involve more Asian teams in addition to the main world teams,” he said.
He said this at a press conference after the Second Management Meeting of the 2022 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (29th Edition) yesterday.
Also present were the President of the Perak Hockey Association, Mohd Sayuti Abd Samat and the Head Coach of the National Men’s Senior Squad, A. Arulselvaraj.
According to Subahan, the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is the best field for the national squad to meet the strongest teams in Asia.
“Our target is for the national squad to be able to step up,” he said.
The last time the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup took place was in 2019 while the 2020 edition was postponed to 2021, but canceled following the Covid-19 pandemic.
South Korea was the champion in the last edition while Malaysia appeared five times as runner-up throughout the tournament’s history.
By Rosli Mansor Ahmad Razali
