COMMENTBy Jugjet Singh
THE Azlan Shah Cup was incepted in 1983 with Australia becoming the Inaugural champions, and they went on to win the Invitational for another four times in 1998, 2004, 2005 and 2007.
Five titles out of nine appearances is the World No 1’s achievement, and they are expected to be in the final of the 19th Edition which starts in Ipoh on Thursday, even with almost a complete new cast.
Australia beat the Germans to the World title in New Delhi, but only four from that team will be fielded in the Azlan Shah Cup.
But that does not make them a whipping side, as the second stringers in Australia will be fighting for limited space in the Champions Trophy line-up, and Azlan Shah Cup will be their selection ground.
Pakistan has also dropped many seniors, but it has nothing to do with planning for the future, but more like weeding out the deadwood which sunk them to the bottom of the 12-team World Cup.
Captain Zeeshan Ashraf, Akhtar Ali and Mohammad Waseem are said to have requested for rest while world record goal-scorer Sohail Abbas, Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi were not selected.
Goalkeeper Salman Akbar, who also played in World Cup, did not attend trials, and he completed the seven dwarfs cast who will not have a role to play in the drama that will unfold at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh.
India, who ended eighth at their own World Cup, have gone on a witch-hunt and dropped four players who were among those who revolted for a players contract just weeks before the showcase was supposed to start.
Sandeep Singh, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh goal keeper Adrian D’Souza and Vikram Pillay are among those who have been left out and new blood injected.
Both Pakistan and India were considered flops in the World Cup, and are said to be on a team-building exercise, with the Azlan Shah Cup tournament a perfect venue to blood new players.
South Korea, sixth in the World Cup, will present eight new players, as they look to win the Asian Games gold and qualify on merit for the 2013 London Olympics.
And the early indication is that the Koreans will play in the final against Australia for the 19th Azlan Shah Cup gold.
The Invitational will also see China and Egypt in the fray, and any team which dismisses them before taking them head on for 70 minutes might pay for their folly.
Malaysia, with many players on the injury list, will also blood some new players but finishing fourth is not out of their capabilities.
We have the distinction of being the runner-up last year, but just like all the other teams, this tournament is just a warm-up for coach Stephen van Huizen’s men as they prepare to snatch the Asian Games gold medal from the grips of South Korea, India, Pakistan, China and Japan.
