IPOH: Japan lifted the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup for the first-time ever after beating three-time champions Pakistan 4-1 in the final via a penalty shootout after both teams were tied 2-2 in regulation play at the Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium last night.
Japan, playing for the sixth-time in the invitational tournament since 1987, has never advanced to the final before, with their best achievement being fourth-place finishes when the tournament was last held in 2022 after going down 3-5 to Pakistan in the bronze-medal match.
In the match, Seren Tanaka opened the score for the world number 15, Japan in the 12th minute to begin the highly-entertaining final, shocking hundreds of Pakistani supporters in the stadium.
However, Pakistan, who have been labelled as the comeback kings in the tournament, displayed their fighting spirit once again to turn the tables around as Ajaz Ahmad and Abdul Rehman fired field goals in the 34th and 37th minutes, respectively.
Swiftly into the final-quarter, the blue Samurais launched a concerted attack in search of the equaliser and later levelled the tie when Kazumasa Matsumoto’s depletion sailed into goal in the 47th minute, forcing the champion for 2024 to be decided by a shootout.
The Blue Samurais, who won the toss gained advantage in the shootout as Kosei Kawabe, Ryoma Ooka and Seren Tanaka were on target, while Pakistan’s Rana Waheed Ashraf and Arshad Liaqat missed.
The Green Shirts, then kept their hopes alive as skipper Ammad Butt managed to overcome Japanese stopper Takumi Kitagawa, however, Japan confirmed their victory when Kazumasa Matsumoto netted their fourth to send the Pakistanis packing home in disappointment, after failing to end their 11-year title drought.
Pakistan previously had won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in 1999, 2000, and 2003.
Commenting on the success, Japan head coach Yoshihiro Anai said his charges gained very valuable experience by winning the tournament, which will be crucial en route to achieving their mission of winning the gold at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
“I am very proud of each and every player in the team for their never give up attitude and to stay disciplined throughout the tournament. Pakistan is always a good team, both teams wanted to win, not easy to overcome them,” he said.
Pakistan head coach Roelant Oltmans said his charges received what they deserved today, after failing to convert at least four chances to kill the game earlier.
Meanwhile, Malaysian striker Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal won the Top Scorer award after having netted eight goals in the tournament, while Japan’s Takumi Kitagawa and Takashi Yoshikawa were jointly declared as the Best Goalkeepers of the tournament.
Pakistan’s Muhammad Sufyan Khan was selected as the Player of the Tournament, while Canada were awarded with the Fair Play award.
Earlier, Malaysia, who started as the defending champions, finished in fourth-place after going down 2-3 against world number 10, New Zealand.
The prizes were presented by the Raja Permaisuri of Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, International Hockey Federation (FIH) President Datuk Tayyab Ikram and Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) President Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal.
