Malaysia India contests have always been interesting and enigmatic in the annals of the Azlan Shah Cup. Their contests often evoked not only keen contests, but always wider interest in Malaysian public, as the country follows the Indian hockey fortune on a big way. Strictly speaking, Indian hockey is still talked about there, because of its world cup win 1975, though it occurred three decades ago. Sizeable of hockey buffs who we encounter during the tournaments, did not fail to recount the Merdeca event, and in particular Ajit Pal Singh is an ever green hero there.
The hosts Malaysia might not have won the Cup they value most, often finished at the bottom in the ranking, but whenever it faced India it made them to sweat for win.
Strictly speaking, Malaysia won the first ever contest between the two. On 25th August 1983 in the first Azlan Shah Cup, then called as Pentangular Tournament, Malaysia defeated India 2-3 in the league; India revenged the defeat three days later in the bronze medal play off. India 5 Malaysia 0.
Then upto 1995 when India lifted the Cup third and last time, Malaysians were made to second-fiddle to India.
The one victory that India posted in the 90s, that was in 1996 at Ipoh, was worth mentioning. The defending Champions India sent an experimental team to Ipoh which the Malaysian Hockey Federation did not accept, even lodged an official complain with the the FIH on India’s ‘betrayal’. India certainly lost many matches there (to Holland, SK and GB in that order), but in the surcharged atmosphere it overcame Malaysia, thereby showing to the world India’s B team, trained by V.Baskaran, was better than Malaysia’s best. Be it as it may.
After that till 2001, when India drew them 1-1, India could maintain a winning streak. In 2004, again it was a draw. Next year, Rajinder Singh Jr.’s India went down 1-4 to Malaysia at Kuala Lumpur, by far the biggest victory for the hosts. However in the ranking match India turned the tide (2-1), giving much needed relief to Rajinder.
India lost the Semis of the 2007 event, where otherwise India was well enough to be in the final to lock horns with Australia. Malaysians on that day showed enough opportunism to avail the winning goal, using no offside rule to their advantage. Indians made at least five times more attacks than the Malaysians yet Coach Joaquim was so helpless the defeat could not be understood.
Last year, India needed a draw or a win in their last pool match, against Malaysia, to advance to the dream final, and when it happened, coach Bansal’s boys were cloud nine. Soon, a month later the victory was about to be clouded with match fixing controversy, but in the end it was proved to a hoax.
In all, tomorrow when India takes on the hosts, both are in a crucial phase of the tournament. A victory for the hosts will ensure their entry into the final, while the same will reinvent the Indians to keep up their hopes alive. Whatever happens, hockey fans will have a good feat on Wednesday.
This writer witnessed a strange phenomenon last year. There were more crowd for Malaysia India match than for the India-Pakistan one.
I am not there to report this year, but the same might repeat now. For, India-Malaysia contests nowadays are played out on even keel and the crowd likes it.
India-Malaysia record in Azlan Shah Cup
Played 15
India won 10
Drawn 2
India lost 3 (once each in 1983, 2005, 2007)