Sultan Azlan Shah Cup: Only the best for Azlan Shah Cup

National Hockey coach Sarjit Singh has dispelled any notion of picking a weakened side for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which will be held in Ipoh from May 8-18.

Sarjit said yesterday that they will field the best players for the meet but added that injured players will be given a longer rest period and could be left out.

“The team will be picked from the 30 players that we have in training. I can say that the best will be picked and I will not select a weak team for the tournament.

“The training started today (yesterday) and we are currently assessing the injured players to see if they can be fit enough for duty. I do not want to rush them and will not pick them if they are not fully recovered,” said Sarjit.

Before the team went to Japan for the Olympic qualifiers defenders Zulkifli Rejab, Megat Azrafiq and midfielder Nabil Fiqri Mohamed Nor were left out because of injury. Then S. Kuhan and Mohamed Shahrun Nabil joined the crock list in Japan. Both have yet to recover.

Sarjit added Megat had made good speed with his recovery and they will see how he does in training before making a decision.

He also said players from the junior squad will not be involved in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

“We will do with only the senior players in training. We have a large pool and there is no reason to look at the juniors who have their own programme to follow.”

The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh will feature seven teams. Argentina, India, Pakistan, Canada, Belgium, New Zealand and Malaysia are in the fray.

Four of the teams will play in the Beijing Olympic Games. They are New Zealand, Belgium, Canada and Pakistan.