Ipoh (Malaysia), April 3 (IANS) The 24th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, starting here from Sunday, signals the return to action of Australian World Cup winners Jamie Dwyer and Glenn Turner after a 10-month absence from their national hockey team.
If five-time World Player of the Year Dwyer plays, he will become the most capped Australian hockey player of all time. The 36-year-old has 321 caps, same as former midfield maestro Jay Stacy.
The Kookaburras, who have won this tournament eight times, will welcome back Dwyer and striker Turner to the fold. Neither player has been in the side since the 2014 World Cup due to injuries.
Head coach Graham Reid has brought in two new faces to the Australian goal. Leon Hayward has been recently selected as a senior squad goalkeeper and this will be his first major tournament, while Tristan Clemons has been promoted from the national development squad.
For the teams participating in the tournament, there will be added importance as it is the last major international before the Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Finals in June.
This year’s participants – holders Australia, hosts Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, India and Canada – are all competing in the HWL Semi-Finals.
The opening match will see the holders and number one ranked team in the world, Australia, take on the ever-improving Canadian team.
South Korea will then take on the high-flying India and New Zealand will feel the heat of the crowd when they face the hosts in the third game of the day.
India’s new head coach Paul van Ass is fielding a very experienced side; within the squad, only goalkeeper Harjot Singh and forward Satbir Singh have less than 20 international caps, with six players earning more than 100 caps and captain Sardar Singh on 206 caps.
The tournament is played on a round robin basis, with the final day of competition seeing the teams play off for final placings.