- 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.
- 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,
- 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.