KARACHI Reigning world champions Australia and Asian champions South Korea will start as joint favourites at the seven-nation 19th Azlan Shah Hockey Cup gets underway at Ipoh (Malaysia) on May 6. Named after Sultan Azlan Shah, the president of Asian Hockey Federation, the 10-day championship which concludes on May 16, will cost the Malaysian Hockey Federation around Rs 20 million. The money needed to host the annual championship has been raised through donations. A number of sponsors on Monday presented cheques to Sultan Azlan Shah in a simple ceremony in a Kuala Lumpur hotel. All the seven teams including Pakistan have reached the championship venue located in the state of Perak. An 18-member Pakistan team left here in the wee hours of Sunday morning for Malaysia where they are expected to salvage some of the pride lost in New Delhi World Cup where they finished at the bottom of the 12-team competition. The 12th World Cup in New Delhi in last March saw some wonderful hockey played. The tournament has a special place in world hockey largely because of the high esteem His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah is held in. This is why it has always attracted some of the best teams and provided such keen competition. Therefore, it is hoped that this tradition of high performance and sportsmanship is maintained as a tribute to a leader whose name has long been synonymous with Malaysian hockey. The tournament has once again drawn some of the most exciting teams in the sport with Australia, South Korea, Pakistan, India, China, Egypt and Malaysia in the draw this time around and will be held from the May 6 to 16 at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium, Ipoh. Ten matches of the tournament, including the final, will be telecast live on Astro Arena while entry to the stadium is free. The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup has become an important fixture in the world hockey calendar because it provides much needed high-level competition played in the true spirit of the game. The quality of the participating teams will ensure that the fans will be treated to entertaining hockey. The hosting of the tournament in Ipoh provides Perak yet another opportunity to showcase the sport, and the state, both at home and abroad. The Organising Committee hopes that the tournament this year will live up to its promise and foster the friendship, the fair play and the healthy competition which it always has, said Organizing Chairman Dato Haji Abdul Rahim M Arif. Australia, one amongst the seven teams at Ipoh, are the current world champions having won the 2010 World Cup held in New Delhi in March. They are ranked world number one and are using the tournament to rebuild the team with an eye to the future. With Richard Charlesworth coaching the team, Australia is having one of their best spells at international level. They have participated in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup nine times since the inaugural tournament in 1983. Australia have won the Azlan Shah Cup five times, with the last victory achieved in 2007, incidentally the last time they participated. Pakistan have been successful in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in the past, their performance in Ipoh will come under scrutiny following their dismal performance in the recent World Cup where they finished last. From the inaugural tournament until 2005, Pakistan always finished on the podium, something they have failed to do so for the last four editions of the tournament. Although Pakistan are the record holders of four World Cups, they have not finished amongst the top four of the World Cup or Olympic Games and have not won the Champions Trophy since 1994. There is much at stake for Pakistan and their journey to the top could well take the first step in Ipoh. India, the defending champions will be hard pressed to win the title with the likes of Australia and South Korea in the fray. With Spaniard Jose Brasa as coach, India played relatively well in the World Cup they hosted in March but failed to make the semi-finals. India have dominated hockey from 1920s to 1980 winning an unparalleled eight Olympic Gold Medals. In the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, India won three titles in 1985, 1991 and 1995 and took 14 years to win their fourth title last year. India always attract crowds and it will not be different this time. They could well challenge pre-tournament favorites Australia and South Korea. South Koreans, having established themselves as one of the top teams in world hockey, have yet to win a major hockey title. They came close in the 1999 Champions Trophy and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games but ended up as the bridesmaids on both occasions. And it is no different in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup as Korea have only won the tournament once in 1996 despite having played in 12 editions of which they were the losing finalists four times. The Koreans rely on superior fitness and exceptional set pieces especially in penalty corners. Having retained a bulk of players who were at the World Cup in March, Korea must surely start as favorites. China are playing in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup for only the second time with their only appearance in 2007 where they finished seventh. The Chinese are one of the most difficult teams for opposing coaches to gain information on as they do not tend to tour much. Prior to the World Cup Qualifiers in Invercargill last November, Chinas most recent form prior to that was the Asia Cup where they finished second spot behind South Korea. They defeated Malaysia on penalty strokes but Malaysia gained revenged at the World Cup Qualifiers winning 3-2. China have retained 15 players who played at world cup qualifiers at Invercargill. Egypt, the only team from Africa made their debut in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup last year and held eventual champions India to a 2-2 draw. A hardworking unit that can trouble any team with their gritty display and posses an element of surprise in their performances. Not much is known about them as they tend to limit their participation. But the Egyptians have some very skillful players and could well pull off a surprise or two in the competition this year. They have listed several new faces in the team retaining only three that played last year. Host Malaysia, which finished second in the last edition of the championship having missed out on the World Cup after losing to New Zealand 2-1 in the Qualifiers, would find hard to reach the medal podium in the presence of top Asian and European teams. Malaysia have taken the past six months to build their team. The task of whipping a team for the Asian Games is now on the shoulders of Stephen van Huizen who guided the team via the 2000 Olympic Qualifiers to Sydney 2000. The target this year is the Asian Games hence it will be interesting to see how they fare. Malaysia have never won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup since their inception in 1983, their best being runners-up in 1985, 2007 and last year.