India at the Azlan Shah Cup
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual international men's hockey tournament held in Malaysia. It began in 1983 as a biennial contest and became an annual event after 1998. The 25th Azlan Shah Hockey tournament will run from April 6 to 16
India has won the cup five times while Australia tops the table with eight victories. Pakistan has won it three times, New Zealand and Germany twice, England. Other winners are South Korea, Netherlands and Argentina.
The defending champions are New Zealand.
India has entered the finals six times, winning it in five of those and losing to Argentina in 2008. India has finished third, also six times (1983, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2015). India has won it continuously in 2009 and 2010.
Prepping for Rio
In 2016, India, led by Sardar Singh, has the big task of living up to great expectations at the Rio Olympics. If fans of Indian hockey are to be satisfied, the team needs to win at least silver here.
A seventh Azlan Shah victory will be good preparation for the Olympics starting in August. India has already won one match and lost to the reigning champions Australia in another.
India has to face Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand and Pakistan in their remaining round-robin matches. The top four will qualify for the semi-finals.
A failure for India in this tournament will have a telling effect on their preparation for the Olympics. Roelant Oltmans, the coach, is confident that India will perform well.
India faces Canada on Sunday (April 10), Pakistan (April 12), New Zealand (April 13) and Malaysia (April 15). Having lost to Australia by a big margin, the team will have to up their game.
Indian team:
GOALKEEPER: Harjot Singh, Akash Anil Chikte
DEFENDERS: Rupinder Pal Singh, Jasjit Singh Kular, Kothajit Singh, Surender Singh, Harmanpreet Singh
MIDFIELDERS: Danish Mujtaba, Chinglensana Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sardar Singh, S K Uthappa, Harjeet Singh
FORWARDS: Talwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Ramandeep Singh, Nikkin Thimmaiah.
India has won the cup five times while Australia tops the table with eight victories. Pakistan has won it three times, New Zealand and Germany twice, England. Other winners are South Korea, Netherlands and Argentina.
The defending champions are New Zealand.
India has entered the finals six times, winning it in five of those and losing to Argentina in 2008. India has finished third, also six times (1983, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2015). India has won it continuously in 2009 and 2010.
Prepping for Rio
In 2016, India, led by Sardar Singh, has the big task of living up to great expectations at the Rio Olympics. If fans of Indian hockey are to be satisfied, the team needs to win at least silver here.
A seventh Azlan Shah victory will be good preparation for the Olympics starting in August. India has already won one match and lost to the reigning champions Australia in another.
India has to face Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand and Pakistan in their remaining round-robin matches. The top four will qualify for the semi-finals.
A failure for India in this tournament will have a telling effect on their preparation for the Olympics. Roelant Oltmans, the coach, is confident that India will perform well.
India faces Canada on Sunday (April 10), Pakistan (April 12), New Zealand (April 13) and Malaysia (April 15). Having lost to Australia by a big margin, the team will have to up their game.
Indian team:
GOALKEEPER: Harjot Singh, Akash Anil Chikte
DEFENDERS: Rupinder Pal Singh, Jasjit Singh Kular, Kothajit Singh, Surender Singh, Harmanpreet Singh
MIDFIELDERS: Danish Mujtaba, Chinglensana Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sardar Singh, S K Uthappa, Harjeet Singh
FORWARDS: Talwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Ramandeep Singh, Nikkin Thimmaiah.
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