India to play China in Azlan Shah opener

NEW DELHI: Defending champions India will take on China in their campaign-opener at the 19th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup International Hockey Tournament to be held at Ipoh, Malaysia from May 6-16.

Besides India and China, other countries taking part in the seven-nation annual tournament are world champions Australia, Asia number one South Korea, Pakistan, Egypt and hosts Malaysia.

The tournament will be played on a round-robin format with the top two teams clashing for the title, while the third and fourth teams will play for the bronze medal, a Hockey India release said on Tuesday.

Australia have won the event a record five times, while India won on four occasions — 1985, 1991, 1995, 2009 — and were runner-up two years ago.