Good chance to win title for first time

have a good chance of winning the Azlan Shah Cup for the first time in Ipoh on March 23-30.

Roelant Oltman’s World No 13 team will open their campaign against 16thranked South Africa on March 23, followed by matches against Japan, India, South Korea and Canada.

Only India (World No 5) and Canada (World No 10) are ranked higher than Malaysia in the tournament.

Former world champions Australia and New Zealand have decided not to play in this year’s edition.

For the record, Malaysia have yet to taste victory in the Azlan Shah Cup despite reaching the final on five occasions (1985, 2007, 2009, 2013 and 2014).

Oltmans will use the tournament to prepare for the Olympic Qualifier in Kuala Lumpur on April 23-May 1.

“We will select a team after the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL),” said team manager Stephen van Huizen.

“Oltmans has not spoken about his plans yet. There could be some changes compared to last year’s World Cup squad.

“But surely, we will do our best to upset the higher ranked teams. We need a good result leading up to the qualifier.”

Malaysia are drawn against Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Vanuatu and Wales in the qualifier. The top two will advance to the next stage in November.