Azlan Shah Cup: Teams ready, stadium not

WORLD No 1 Australia will lead six top-10 teams in the 20th Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh on may 5-15.
Malaysia, who have yet to win the tournament after 19 editions, are the lowest ranked at No 15, going by the International Hockey Federation World Rankings which were last updated on Aug 9 last year.
And interestingly though, Great Britain have been listed instead of England, whose world ranking is No 4.
South Korea (No 6), New Zealand (No 7) Asian Games champions Pakistan (No 8) and India (No 9) will complete the power-packed cast who will hold court at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh.
But sadly, while the most exciting teams in the world have confirmed, the stadium itself is not in the best of shape, and will need to be closed for at least one month to spruce it up.
Malaysia Hockey League Premier Division teams found out about the sorry state of the stadium when they played there, as both the artificial pitches were infested with fungus and players could not trap the ball well.
Many fell while trying to chase the ball on the slippery surface, as there was also plenty of mud.
An official, who declined to be named said: “The score board is also in tatters, while work to clean the artificial pitch is in progress, but very slow, as it is a tedious job.
“Also, the drainage system is in bad shape, as when it rains, the water stagnates for long periods on the pitch, while the changing rooms, which are lower than the pitch, get flooded easily.”
He predicted loads of money as well as a concerted effort for one month is needed to make both the pitches playable again.
Last year, it rained cats-and-dogs during the tournament, with even the final being abandoned after six minutes of play because of torrential rain.
India and South Korea were declared joint-champions as the pitch was water-logged and unplayable.
Malaysia ended fourth behind Australia, and it would be a shame if the stadium is unable to hold a candle against the best in the world.
FIXTURES: May 5 -- 1605 New Zealand v Pakistan, 1805 Korea v India, 2005 Great Britain v Malaysia.
May 6: 1605 Korea v Pakistan, 805 Great Britain v India, 2005 Australia v Malaysia.
May 8: 1605 Australia v India, 1805 Great Britain v Pakistan, 2005 Korea v New Zealand.
May 9: 1605 Australia v Pakistan, 1805 Great Britain v New Zealand, 2005 India v Malaysia.
May 11: 1605 New Zealand v Malaysia, 1805 Australia v Korea, 2005 Pakistan v India.
May 12: 1605 Australia v Great Britain, 1805 New Zealand v India, 2005 Korea v Malaysia
May 14: 1605 Great Britain v Korea, 1805 Pakistan v Malaysia, 2005 Australia v New Zealand
May 15: 1535 Fifth-Sixth, 805 Third-Fourth, 2035 Final.