Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament postponed due to Coronavirus fear

New Delhi: The Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament on Monday was pushed from April to September due to the coronavirus outbreak which is rapidly spreading around the world. The tournament was scheduled to be held in Ipoh in Malaysia from April 11 to 18. It will now be held from September 24 to October 2, organisers said in a statement.

India who are regular at the event was not supposed to take part in this year’s edition of the Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament.

In a statement, Organising Committee chairman Dato’ Haji Abd Rahim Bin Md said,”…it is in the best interest of the players, officials and all parties involved that the 29th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Men’s Hockey Tournament 2020 to be postponed.”

“The outbreak of COVID-19 which is spreading rapidly in Korea and Japan. The health and well-being of the teams, especially Australia, Canada and Japan should be taken into consideration as not to jeopardise their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics,” he added.

The organising committee have aplologoised for the inconvenience but said the decision was taken in the best interest of the players around the world.

The Azlan Shah Hockey Cup tournament is the latest sporting event to be hit by the deadly coronavirus, which has led the death of 3000 people and infected another 88,000 across the globe.