Top five teams to look out for at Sultan Johor Cup

The 10th edition of the competition will be hosted in the city of Johor Bahru.

The Sultan Johor Cup is about to make its much-awaited comeback in this month of October 2022. The tournament was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 amidst the COVID pandemic. For the unversed, the Sultan Johor Cup is an international under-21 men's field hockey tournament contested in Malaysia. The city of Johor Bahru will serve as the host city.

While the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium will serve as its venue. Since the day of its inception, five teams have so far won the tournament. The countries are Great Britain (x3), India (x2), Australia (x2), Germany (x1) and Malaysia (x1). This year it will be the 10th edition of the tournament. It will witness the likes of India, Britain, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and South Africa bashing it out for glory.

So today we are going to find out the top teams who have a good shot at winning the trophy this year. A top-five countdown of the best-rated teams.

5. Japan

Japan has probably been the most consistent yet the unluckiest out of all the other teams. In the last two editions of 2018 and 2019, they finished in the 4th spot. In 2016 they finished in their best position at 3rd in the tournament. The Japanese hockey fans would surely hope for this year to be different.

The young Japanese players would be more than determined to take it all the way. Ironically in fact Japan's Kosei Kawabe has been adjudged the player of the tournament in the 2019 edition. So there is no shortage of talented young players in the team. Now the only thing left to be done is to make a break into the finals.

Something that the senior team has also struggled with over the years. The younglings will surely hope to break that curse.

4. Malaysia

Hosts Malaysia too would want another crack at the title. It's almost been 11 years since their last successful exploit. The Speedy Tigers won it in the debut season after that it has somewhat been a dry spell for them. Malaysia did in fact make it to the finals in 2013. However, their hopes of winning their second Sultan Johor Cup fizzled out after suffering a heavy blow from India. Malaysia lost that game 0-3.

Malaysia finished 3rd in 2019 and was placed 4th in 2017. During this period they made a number of 3rd and 4th-place finishes. Something the hosts again would love to change this year.

3. Australia

Former two-time champions Australia are also strong contenders for the title this year. Though the year 2019 saw them put up a dismal performance but their 2016 and 2017 dominance is still fresh in everyone's mind. The undefeated Australians beat Pakistan in the finals in that fixture. The 3-1 victory saw the likes of Frazer Gerrard (x1) and now senior team stalwart Blake Govers (x2) score three crucial goals.

In 2017 the Kookaburras were even more lethal. They won all their games and beat Britain in the finals with a 2-0 scoreline. So Australia has all to play for this year. The team would suddenly hope to pounce at its opponents with reinvigorated energy.

2. India

India too would hope for a change of luck this year at the Johor Cup. The two-time champions finished runners-up in the last two editions. Both times conceded at the hands of Great Britain. India has lost both games by a close margin. Coincidentally in both these games, it was India who drew first blood by opening up the scoring. However in the end it was not to be.

As Britain found a way to come back in both games. So the Men in Blue will have to do their homework properly. Indian forward Uttam Singh is leading the team this time and has some experienced personnel at his disposal. The likes of Shardanand Tiwary, Sudeep Chirmako and Araijeet Singh Hundai among others have senior team experience.

So their presence would definitely make India a force to reckon with. Apart from the fact that India has played six finals on this ground would give them that much-needed motivation to do well. No other team has more final appearances than India at the Johor State Hockey Stadium.

1. Great Britan

Great Britain stands at the brink of a stellar achievement at this year's Johor Cup. Britain has the opportunity of making it three in a row if they win this year's trophy. Something that no other team has done. They are riding on a high wave and are the absolute favourites to win. The two back-to-back wins over the next-best team India would also give them immense confidence.

In fact, all three wins in the finals have come against India. Britain will start their campaign against South Africa on 22nd October. They will play their last match in the round-robin stage against India on the 28th of October. A match every hockey lover will follow with a very keen eye.