New Zealand scored their second victory in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup when they beat Canada 3-0 in Ipoh on Thursday. The win comes after a streak of three losses to Pakistan, Malaysia and Argentina, meaning that the win does not do anything to help the Black Sticks’ cause for a berth in Sunday’s final.
India gave their hopes of qualifying the final a huge boost when they beat Pakistan 2-1 in their fifth group game in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh. Despite their shock 3-5 loss to Belgium the previous day, it was Pakistan who started as favourites in the game. A win would see them book their ticket against Argentina in the final on Sunday. A loss would leave them depending on other results. And , with this result, Pakistan will be biting their nails and hoping that the other results go their way- especially the Malaysia India game.
Fresh from their 5-3 upset win over Pakistan, Beijing bound Belgium once again played some brilliant hockey to beat hosts Malaysia 4-2 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup today. It was Malaysia’s third defeat in the tournament, and the hosts have just four points from five games. They will finish their group engagements when they play India in their final game on Saturday.
Some poor finishing and dreadful defending saw hosts Malaysia draw a game they should have won at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh. This was Malaysia’s first draw in the tournament, and they now have four points to show for their efforts in the tournament.
Now here is one result we did not expect- Pakistan, second in the table on goal difference losing to bottom of the table Belgium !! The result means that Pakistan will have to win or draw their next game against India to be sure of meeting Argentina in the final. Should they lose to their arch rivals, and should India put it past Malaysia in their last group game, Pakistan will have to settle for playing the third/fourth place playoffs.
One of the two finalists for the 17th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup have been determined- Argentina. The South Americans continued their impressive run in Ipoh as they beat New Zealand 2-1 to secure their fourth win in the tournament. This is the first time in three Azlan Shah tournaments that they have made it to the final. In their debut tournament in 2006, they finished seventh ( eight teams participated). Last year, they finished fifth by beating Pakistan in the playoff for fifth/sixth positions.
Pakistan won their third game at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh when they beat Canada 2-1. Canada, who had lost their previous game 1-3 to India, suprisingly took the lead through Bindi Kullar. Both of Pakistan’s goals came late in the second half, but the fact they took three points is all what matters for the three time champions. Rehan Butt, who scored four against New Zealand, equalised, with Mohammad Saqlain scoring the winner three minutes from time.
Hosts Malaysia’s chances of finishing in the top of the table at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup were dealt a huge blow when they were thrashed 5-0 by Argentina on Day 5. Malaysia now have two losses and a win from three games, while Argentina remain unbeaten after four games. This is the second time in this tournament that Argentina have pumped in five or more- they had beaten India 5-1 in their second game of the tournament.
India recorded their second successive win at the 17th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup when they beat Belgium 6-4 in Ipoh. The game, which produced 10 goals, now holds the record for the highest scoring game in this tournament ( not overall), eclipsing Pakistan’s 6-3 win over New Zealand.
In a battle between two teams who had picked up full points from both their previous encounters, Argentina drew 3-3 with three time champions Pakistan in a keenly fought Sultan Azlan Shah Cup game.
Eight time Olympic medallists India finally got their act together as they beat Canada 3-1 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. India, who had earlier lost 3-4 to New Zealand and 1-5 to Argentina, came up with an improved performance to win the game 3-1 despite conceding the lead to the Canadians.
The last two meetings between these two sides had both gone in favour of the Black Sticks-a 4-1 win in China in 2006 ( World Cup qualifiers) and a 1-0 loss in Madrid in 2004 ( Olympic qualifiers). And it was for this precise reason that Sarjit Singh and his boys were confident, but a bit jittery nevertheless on the eve of their second game in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup against New Zealand.
Here is the list of fixtures at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup being held in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Day 1 (May 
Pakistan 3-2 Malaysia
Argentina 2-1 Belgium
New Zealand 4-3 India
Day 2 ( May 9)
Canada 1-0 Belgium
Pakistan 6-3 New Zealand
Argentina 5-1 India
India’s recent hockey woes continued as they were thrashed 5-1 by Argentina in their second match of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. The eight time Olympic gold medallists, who lost 3-4 to New Zealand in their first game, looked hopelessly out of place against the South Americans, whose pace was too hot to handle for the young Asian team.
This list will be updated regularly, and the current rankings are after the Malaysia vs Belgium game on May 15
Rehan Butt ( Pak) -7
Sandeep Singh ( Ind)-7
Mohammad Saqlain ( Pak)-5
Belgium suffered their second defeat in a row as they went down 0-1 to Canada in the opening match of the second day of the 17th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Canada, who are in Group B in the Beijing Olympics, had Matthew Guest to thank for their 1-0 win over the Belgians, who are ranked higher than them in the FIH rankings.
After their opening day 3-2 win over hosts Malaysia , Pakistan asserted their status as favourites to win the 17th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup when they thrashed New Zealand 6-3 in Ipoh.
Pakistan began their quest for a fourth Sultan Azlan Shah Cup with a 3-2 win over hosts Malaysia in the opening match of the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
The hosts took the lead as early as the first minute through Kevinder Singh. Muhammad Ateeq equalised for Pakistan from a penalty corner, but Malaysia took the lead a minute later, with Mohd Amin Rahim converting a penalty corner.
Rehan Butt levelled the scores in the 28th minute, and Mohammad Saqlain scored on the hour mark to give Pakistan a 3-2 win.
In another game, Argentina beat Belgium 2-1. Martin Sosa and Tomas Innocente scored for the South Americans, while Jerome Truyens scored the sole goal of the game for the Belgians.
Pakistan take on New Zealand tomorrow, while Argentina take on India. The Belgians will play Canada in their second game, also to be played tomorrow.
Olympic participants New Zealand, without Ryan Archibald, began their Sultan Azlan Shah Cup campaign on a winning note when they beat India 4-3.
The Indians, who have finished third in the last two editions of the tournament, started off brightly, taking a two goal advantage in the first twenty minutes.
The 17th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup kicks off in Ipoh today. It concludes on May 18.
Defending champions Australia are not participating in the tournament.
Malaysia, of course are the hosts, and will be keen to prove a point after failing to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. The other teams taking part in the tournament are :-
Canada
Belgium
Argentina
Pakistan
India
New Zealand
Pakistan, New Zealand, Belgium and Canada have all qualified for the Olympics.
Malaysia will be without skipper Shanmugham Kuhan, Mohd Shahrun Nabil and Mohd Razie Abdul Rehman.
There are wholesale changes in the Indian side, after the Asians failed to make it to the Olympics for the first time in eighty years. They also performed poorly in the four nations tournament in Australia, and an Indian T.V. channel ran an operation that claimed that the hockey federation secretary allegedly demanded money for selecting players.
No Prabhjot Singh, Tushar Khandekar, William Xalco, Samir Baxla, Baljit Singh and Ignace Turkey in the Indian lineup.
The schedule for the tournament can be seen here.
On paper, the Deccan Chargers, owned by the Deccan Chronicle, happen to be one of the most balanced teams in the tournament. Yet, for some reason, they seem to be unable to produce results. All they have to show for their campaign so far, is a solitary 10 wicket win over fellow strugglers Mumbai, which was a world record in itself. And yesterday, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, VVS Laxman’s side went down to the Royal Bangalore Challengers by three runs to make it five defeats out of six games in the IPL.
If Danish legend Peter Schmeichel is to be believed, his son Kasper will not be at the City of Manchester Stadium next season. The 21 year old is below Joe Hart and Andreas Isaksson in Sven Goran Eriksson’s goalkeeper list, and with Eriksson unable to guarantee him a regular starting place, Kasper is set to leave City.
