No go for Sultan Azlan Shah Cup next month

KUALA LUMPUR: The 29th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh from April 11-18 has been postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Organising committee chairman Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohd Ariff said they have rescheduled the tournament from Sept 24 to Oct 3.

“We did this in the best interests of the players and officials as the Covid-19 is still spreading in South Korea and Japan, ” said Rahim.

“The health and well-being of the teams especially those from Australia, Canada and Japan should be taken into consideration as we don’t want to jeopardise their preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.

All three teams have qualified for the Games from July 24-Aug 9.

“The decision to postpone the tournament to September has been conveyed to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), Asian Hockey Federation (AHF), Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) and all participating teams, ” he added.