The 27th Edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will commence from the 3rd of March 2018, and will showcase the talent of some of the best athletes in the world. England, the reigning champions, will surely seek to retain the title and take their form into the prime events of 2018, including the Vitality Hockey World Cup 2018, Bhubaneswar. Australia, the leading title holders for the event, with 9 titles to their name, will look to extend the lead even further. The Olympic Champions, Argentina, are also set to participate in the tournament, who will look to show their dominance at the topmost level of the sport.
The Asian Champions, India, are the top ranked team (world number 6) from Asia who will participate in the tournament. India has won the tournament 5 times (1985, 1991, 1995, 2009, 2010), and are second only to Australia. The strong Indian Team enter the tournament with high moral, winning the Hero Asia Cup 2017, Dhaka and securing a Bronze medal in the World Hockey League 2017, Bhubaneswar, finishing below Australia and Argentina, both of which will clash against India in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2018. Malaysia are the second Asian team to participate in the tournament. They are the lowest ranked team (world number 12), however, the Southeast Asian Games 2017 champions possess the ability to produced stunning displays of hockey, and will be a team to look out for on their home turf. They will face Ireland, world number 10, in the opening day of the tournament. Argentina will take on India in the opening match of the tournament, while Australia and England will seek to dominate the group stages early on in the tournament.
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