Weighing the hockey heavyweights Pakistan, India, Korea, Australia and Malaysia, who will compete against holders New Zealand in the 22nd edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
The oldest and most prestigious invitational hockey tournament in world, the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be held in Ipoh, Perak from the 9th to the 17th of March. The A-Grade tournament is sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and will feature the six teams in a round robin format.
Australia (World Rank: 2): Squad: Tim Bates, Chris Bausor, George Bazeley, Daniel Beale, Craig Boyne, Nick Budgeon, Joel Carroll, Andrew Charter, Tim Deavin, Matt Gohdes, Rob Hammond, Josh Miller, Daniel Mirecki, Trent Mitton, Glenn Simpson, Jacob Whetton, Tristan White, Aran Zalewski.
Known as the Kookaburras, Australia are the highest ranked team in this edition with the most titles in the tournament’s history, six, the last of which came in 2011.
The men from Down Under are a formidable force in hockey. They have won five successive Champions Trophy titles as well as every Oceania Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1999.
Lately though, the Kookaburras have not been involved in a lot of competitive hockey, and that is cause for worry for Australian hockey Hall of Famer and head coach Richard Charlesworth.
He said: “My concern is we haven’t had a match for six months so maybe we’ll be a bit rusty early on. It’s sort of like the first game of the season in the AFL I suppose.”
Having led the team to World Cup, Champions Trophy (twice) and Commonwealth Games triumphs, the 61-year-old will be eager to add to this collection with the Azlan Shah trophy this time around.
However, along with rustiness, Australia will also have to overcome the absence of key players, including star striker Jamie Dwyer.
The onus will be on debutants like Jacob Whetton and Andrew Carter to fill in the gaps left by their more experienced predecessors and help their side break the duck.
Pakistan (World Rank: 5): Squad: Imran Butt (GK), Imran Shah (GK), Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Imran (c), Muhammad Atiq, Rizwan Junior, Farid Ahmed, Amir Shehzad, Mohammad Tauseeq, Tasawar Abbas, Waqas Sharif, Shafqat Rasool, Haseem Khan, Mohammad Imran Junior, Ali Shah, Mohammad Suleman, Kashif Ali, Irfan Junior, Khalid Butt, Kashif Shah, Sabtain Raza, Muzammil Bhatti, Mohammad Suleman, Arslan, Dilbar.
Known as the Green Shirts, coach Akhtar Rasool’s team will do battle in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after winning the Asian Champions Trophy in December. Pakistan are traditional hockey powerhouses who will be as concerned with beating neighbours India as with winning the tournament itself.
Rasool though is hoping for longer-term gains.
“It will help in forming more balanced and stronger squads for the important tournaments scheduled after this event,” said Rasool of the invitational.
“It’s not going to be an easy challenge,” he added.
“All the teams will be tough; we’ll especially have to keep an eye out for Australia, India and Korea.”
Team captain Mohammad Imran revealed to The Express Tribune that the title was not his team’s prime target. He said: “Our main aim in the event is to discover new talent.
“If we manage to find two to four potential youngsters for our pool for the World Cup, it will be a successful tournament for us, irrespective of the results.”
New Zealand (World Rank: 6): Squad: Cory Bennett, Marcus Child, James Coughlan, Dean Couzins (c), Andy Hayward, Blair Hilton, Hugo Inglis, Stephen Jenness, Devon Manchester, Hamish McGregor, Shay Neal, Arun Panchia, Kane Russell, Alex Shaw, Blair Tarrant, Nick Ross, Jacob Smith, Isaac Staples.
The Black Sticks are the reigning Sultan Azlan Shah Cup champions and coach Colin Batch will be hoping for a repeat of last year’s performance with his young team.
Half of his players have fewer than 10 caps and only three are aged over 23. Midfielder Marcus Child, captain Dean Couzins and Andy Hayward, who scored the winning goal against Argentina in the final last year, will be expected to play lead roles in the title defence.
The Kiwis are taking this tournament seriously, having arrived in Malaysia early and already played two tests against the home side to acclimatize themselves with the local conditions. Although the tests were split between the two sides, the performances of debutants Nick Ross and Cory Bennett would have encouraged Batch.
“This tournament is a chance to develop some of the younger players and give those training hard the opportunity for international competition,” the former Kookaburra said.
India (World Rank: 11): Squad: P.R Sreejesh, Sushant Trikey, Rupinderpal Singh, Harbir Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Amit Rohidas, Gurmail Singh, Manpreet Singh, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, M.B.Aiyappa, Danish Mujtaba (c), Nithin Thimmaiah, Satbir Singh, Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Dharamvir Singh, Gurvinder Singh Chandi, Keshav Dutt (GK), Sandeep Singh, Pardeep Mor, Surendar Kumar, Malak Singh, Imran Khan, Amon Mirash Tirkey, Siddarth Shanker.
India finished second behind arch-rivals Pakistan in the recently concluded Asian Hockey Champions Trophy in Qatar, losing 5-4 in a thrilling final.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup gives them the chance to exact swift revenge.
However, coach Michael Nobbs has played down expectations by stating that his team are aiming to build a strong reserve pool in preparation for the Junior World Cup on home soil later this year.
“We had some objectives in mind when we selected the team for the Azlan Shah Cup. Our main aim is to build a strong team for the Junior World Cup, and we can achieve that only by giving as much international exposure as possible to the junior players,” Nobbs told the Press Trust of India before leaving for Malaysia.
Korea (World Rank: 8): Squad: Lee Myung-Ho, Jang Jong-Hyun,Oh Dae-Keun, Lee Nam-Yong, Seo Jong-Ho, Lee Seung-Il, Yoon Sung-Hoon, You Hyo-Sik, Yeo Woon-Kon, Kang Moon-Kweon, Hyun Hye-Sung, Cha Jong-Bok, Hong Eun-Seong, Kim Young-Jin, Kang Moon-Kyu, Nam Hyun-Woo.
Korea scraped through to the main group stage of the 2012 London Olympics at the expense of Ireland and have been making steady progress ever since. The wealth of experience and the caliber of their players for this edition’s tournament belie their world ranking.
Lee Nam-Yong has continued to shine since his goal broke Irish hearts in the Olmypic qualifiers and his intelligent movement coupled with Nam Hyun-Woo’s overlapping runs should ease the pressure from Cho Sung-Jun’s shaky backline.
The inclusion of Seo Jong-Ho, an All Star inductee from 2007 to 2010, is also a clear sign of Korean ambition.
The Koreans’ high work-rate will pressurize opponents but their lack of creativity also means that it is relatively easy to tactically out-maneuver them. On paper at least.
Malaysia (World Rank: 13): Squad: Mohd Shahrun Nabil Abdullah (Captain), Muhammad Razie Abdul Rahim (Vice Captain), Azlan Misron,Chua Boon Huat, Faizal Saari, Faiz Helmi Jali, Jivan Mohan, Kumar Subramaniam, Mohamad Sukri Abdul Mutalib, Mohammad Izad Hakimi Jamaluddin, Mohd Fitri Saari, Muhamad Azammi Adabi, Muhammad Marhan Mohd Jalil, Nabil Fiqri Mohd Noor, Roslan Jamaluddin, Tengku Ahmad Tajudin Abdul Jalil.
It might sound odd that the host nation has never won its own tournament. However, Malaysia’s best finish of second in 2007 and 1985 is viewed only as a minor disappointment. The country has instead focused on developing players and climbing up the world ranking, by playing against the best in the sport.
That may well change with the appointment of Paul Revington, one of the best and youngest in the coaching business.
Revington revolutionized South African hockey by leading them to the 2004 Olympics and 2006 World Cup – taking the side from 14th to 10th in the world rankings along the way.
The South African masterminded a successful defence of Malaysia’s bronze medal at the Asian Champions Trophy and finished fourth in the Champions Challenge in November last year. Now, Revington has set his sights on qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.
“Malaysia always had the speed in its play. It’s just a matter of using the speed correctly,” Revington told FOX SPORTS.
“Malaysia does not have a massive pool but the players that are available are strong and their level is high – it’s a constant reminder of how privileged I am to be in charge of this project.”
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2013 Schedule
9th March 2013 (Saturday)
Match 1: 4.05pm – New Zealand vs. Pakistan
Match 2: 6.05pm – Australia vs. India
Match 3: 8.05pm – Malaysia vs. Korea
10th March 2013 (Sunday)
Match 4: 4.05pm – Australia vs. Pakistan
Match 5: 6.05pm – Korea vs. India
Match 6: 8.05pm – Malaysia vs. New Zealand
12th March 2013 (Tuesday)
Match 7: 4.05pm – Korea vs. New Zealand
Match 8: 6.05pm – India vs. Pakistan
Match 9: 8.05pm – Malaysia vs. Australia
14th March 2013 (Thursday)
Match 10: 4.05pm – Australia vs. Korea
Match 11: 6.05pm – New Zealand vs. India
Match 12: 8.05pm – Malaysia vs. Pakistan
16th March 2013 (Saturday)
Match 13: 4.05pm – Korea vs. Pakistan
Match 14: 6.05pm – Australia vs. New Zealand
Match 15: 8.05pm – Malaysia vs. India
17th March 2013 (Sunday) – Classification Matches
Match 16: 3.35pm – 5th Placing vs. 6th Placing
Match 17: 6.05pm – 3rd Placing vs. 4th Placing
Match 18: 8.35pm – 1st Placing vs. 2nd Placing