Japan defeated Pakistan to win the 30th Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy
Sport
5 min read
Japan won its maiden Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey trophy by defeating Pakistan 4-1 in the penalty shoot-out in the final. The final was played at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia, on 11 May 2024.
First Sultan Azlan Shah Title for Japan
The Japanese men’s hockey team defeated Pakistan to claim its first Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy. In the final, the match ended at 2-2 after the end of the normal. In the penalty shoot-out, Japan defeated Pakistan by 4-1.
The Pakistani team, also popularly called the Green Shirts, was appearing in the final of the Azlan Shah for the 10th time. It last played the final in 2011, which it lost to Australia. Pakistan has won the Sultan Azlan Shah trophy three times.
Final standing of teams in the 30th Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy
Six teams, Japan, Pakistan, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, and the host team, Malaysia, participated in the 2024 event.
Japan won the trophy, with Pakistan in second place. Malaysia was in third place, followed by New Zealand, South Korea, and Canada in last place.
India and Azlan Shah Trophy
Sultan Azlan Shah is considered a prestigious Hockey tournament in Asia that has attracted the world’s top men’s national hockey teams.
India has been a regular participant in the Sultan Azlan Shah Tournament.
India has won the Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy 5 times in 1985, 1991, 1995, 2009, 2010.
This time, the Indian team skipped the tournament as they were more focused on preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which start on 26 July 2024. Also, the quality of the team participating in this year’s Sultan Azlan Shah trophy was low. For better match practice for the Indian men’s hockey team, Hockey India decided to send the team to take part in the Pro-League being held in Europe.
India is currently ranked 6th in the world, and the highest-ranked team in this year's Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy was New Zealand, which is currently ranked 10th in the world.
After the final, Japan improved its rank to 15th, and Pakistan dropped one place to 16th in the world.
The Netherlands team is currently ranked no.1 globally, followed by Belgium, Australia, Germany, England and India.
Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy
The Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy is organised by the Malaysia Hockey Confederation and invites six countries to play in it. It started as a biennial tournament in 1983 and, after its popularity, was converted into an annual event in 1999.
The trophy is named after the former Sultan of the state of Perak Malaysia, Sultan Azlan Shah. Sultan Azlan Shah was a pioneer of Hockey in Asia. He was the president of the Asian Hockey Federation from 1990 till his death in 2014.
The Trophy named after him is played annually at Ipoh the capital of Perak state of Malaysia.
Australia is the most successful team, having won it 10 times. India is the second most successful team, with 5 titles, and Pakistan has 3 titles.
