Azlan Shah Cup-India No More in the Run

The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual international men's field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. It began in 1983 as a biennial contest. The tournament became an annual event after 1998 due to its growth and popularity. In the 2018, Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, the Indian team did not play very well in the first three matches. They lost against Olympic champions Argentina by 2-3; world champions Australia by 2-4; and drew against England by 1-1. Despite their not so good performance, the Indian team revived hope of doing well further in the tournament after their first victory against the host country Malaysia by 5-1. The Indian team was all focussed and determined to beat Ireland. India’s fate depended on a lot of factors. For India to be in the finals, it was necessary that Australia beats Argentina in the first match of the day, then India would beat Ireland by a big margin and then hope that the match between Malaysia and England ends in a draw. But all these dreams went in vain on Friday, March 9, 2018, when India lost against World No.10 Ireland. Meanwhile, world champions Australia and England have reached the finals. The final match was held on March 10, 2018 wherein Australia emerged as the ultimate winner by defeating England by 2–1.

By: Anuja Arora

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