Struggling India begin Azlan title defence

Battling with a spate of injuries and non-selection of two star players — Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh — India will seek to complete a hat-trick of titles at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament that begins on Thursday.

Five-times gold medalists at the Azlan Shah Cup, India were adjudged joint winners along with South Korea last year when the final was disrupted by bad weather.

The Indians had earlier won the cup outright in 2009, and they currently share the tournament record of five titles with Australia, who are seeking to test their new crop of players ahead of the London Olympics.

The seven-nation round-robin tournament, which will end with a title showdown on May 15 between the top two placed teams, also feature Asian Games champions Pakistan, Asian Games silver medallists Malaysia, Great Britain, South Korea and New Zealand.

Injured former captain Rajpal Singh and Tushar Khandekar’s absence could affect the Indian team’s strike power, while the decision to keep out Sandeep and Sardara will put additional pressure on India’s defence.

Sandeep and Sardara were not considered for selection as they did not secure sanction from the national federation before proceeding to play in the Belgian League. The duo also did not report for a preparatory camp in New Delhi ahead of the tournament.

Seasoned striker Arjun Halappa will lead the Indian team, which will be banking a lot on its midfield in the event, which is also seen as a preparatory tournament for Olympic qualifiers to be held on its soil.

India’s chief coach Harendra Singh expectedly said the competition here would be tough as most of the teams are looking to fine-tune their line-ups in the run-up to the Olympics. India take on South Korea on Wednesday.