Islamabad, 19 October 2022 (TDI): A 17-person team has been named by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) for the forthcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia.
Umar Bhutta will serve as the team’s captain for Pakistan in the competition. The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is slated to be played from January 16 to January 25.
In the 10-day competition, Pakistan will be joined by Malaysia, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, and Egypt. Pakistan will be participating in the famous competition for the first time in three years.
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual international men’s field hockey invitational competition held in Malaysia. It began as a biennial competition in 1983.
Following its success and popularity, the tournament was made an annual event in 1998. The competition is named after Malaysia’s ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King), Sultan Azlan Shah, who is a fan of field hockey.
The competition has been hosted in the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Perak, since 2007. The tournament has also been held in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2022
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2022, Malaysia’s biggest men’s hockey competition, will take place from November 16 to 25 in Ipoh after being postponed twice because to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since 2003, the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup has been a yearly fixture on the International Hockey Federation (FIH) schedule. The invitational competition bears Sultan Azlan Shah’s name, a former FIH executive board member from Malaysia.
Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medallists Australia as well as the silver-winning Indian team, Germany, New Zealand and Canada are the five teams invited to play along with hosts Malaysia this year.
Also Read: Pakistan Hockey League unveiled in Lahore
No. 1 in the world, Australia is also the most successful team in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, with ten titles against India’s five. Pakistan and South Korea have each won the trophy three times.
In the previous edition, India lost the final 4-2 in a shoot-out to South Korea following a 1-1 tie in regulation time. This year, all matches will be held in the Azlan Shah Stadium in the Malaysian city of Ipoh.
I'm a detail-oriented, problem-solving, persistent multitasker. Having a magna cum laude MSc. in Strategic Studies from National Defense University, Pakistan, I believe in peaceful discourse & dialogue and have built my interest in nontraditional security threats.
I am an experienced writer with a primary focus on public policy, environmental security, nuclear strategy, and geopolitics!
