India regained the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after a gap of 13 years with a 3-1 victory over Malaysia amidst a festival ambience in the international hockey tournament here on Sunday. India had earlier led 2-1 at halftime. India lifted the cup for the fourth time, the three others coming in 1985, 1991 and in 1995. Laudable as the functioning of the forward-line was, India did not have to depend on the skill of Sandeep Singh in penalty corners. In fact, India had just a lone penalty corner in the encounter. It wasn’t possible to pick one forward for special tribute as that would have been invidious. To put it properly, the whole attack bristled with life throughout, supported satisfactorily by the mid-field where Gurbaj Singh, Ignace Tirkey and Prabodh Singh were prominent. The good work of Dilip Tirkey and Sandeep Singh, not to forget the swiftness of goalkeeper Baljit Singh, endured the enterprising attacks. Coach Harendra Singh described the victory as a great boost to the game. He Gave full credit to the players and had a special word of appreciation for Ignace Tirkey. “He changed the whole game in favour of us,” he declared. Sultan Azlan Shah, President, Asian Hockey Federation, gave away the prizes. Results:
Final: India 3 (Arjun Halappa, Prabhjot Singh, Shivendra Singh) beat Malaysia 1 (Aslam Misron)