Over the years, Malaysia has become the hub of international hockey. One wonders how the country manages to hold so many events. The 4th Asian Champions in Kuantan, the state capital of Pahang, ends on the 30th of October. The very next day, another important international tournament takes off. The sixth edition of the annual Sultan of Johor Cup for national junior sides is scheduled from October 31-November 6 at Johor Bahru’s Taman Daya Hockey Stadium which has been the venue on all the previous occasions.

In 1983, Malaysia introduced Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, an international invitational tournament. Initially, a biennial event, it is being held annually since 1998 and is today the most prestigious invitational international hockey tournament. All the major hockey nations have figured though the Asian countries are the more frequent participants.

Likewise, Sultan of Johor Cup, initiated in 2011, has become the most significant international event for junior sides and has been held every year since.

SOJC 2016 has added significance as it comes just five weeks before the Junior World Cup in India.

Five of the six teams at Johor Bahru will be in action at the World Cup too.

Ironically, only the hosts Malaysia failed to qualify for the Junior World Cup.

Malaysian team’s manager Yahya Atan says it will be a keenly-contested tournament. "All the five other teams are in the final stages of preparation for the Junior World Cup," said Yahya.

"We will no doubt face strong opponents but at the same time our players too have benefited from playing in the Australian Hockey League as part of our preparations for the SOJC."

Malaysia’s under-21 team participated in the highly competitive AHL this year.

Johor Hockey Association (JHA), the organisers of the Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament, have received a shot in the arm to run the tournament. JHA has received sponsorship totaling 1.45 million ringgits for the tournament.

After the single league, there are play-offs for 1 /2 (final), 3 /4 and 5/6 positions.

Pakistan’s show has been very disappointing in all the five editions. They have failed to reach the podium even once.

In the last two events, the Green-shirts returned with the wooden spoon each time.

Tahir Zaman, the head coach of Pakistan under-21, who was also in charge of the team last year, says it will be different this time. "Last time, Pakistan’s performance was very poor -- mainly due to inexperience. It was a newly-raised side as there had been no activity at the junior level for more than one year. Still, we achieved one encouraging result, the draw with the eventual champions Great Britain.

"Since then, the boys have gained good international exposure," the chief coach says.

Pakistan did very well to finish 2nd at the Junior Asia Cup, thus gaining qualification for the Junior World Cup.

"This summer, we had two European tours where the team played against the national junior sides of major European countries: Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. As many as 13 boys from the 2015 side will be returning to Johor Bahru. The international experience means the bunch is now better structured. They all know how to perform their roles. The physical fitness has also improved a lot. The self-belief is also there. Of course, all the teams must be aiming to be at their peak during the World Cup but a good show at the SOJC will be a great morale boaster.

"For Pakistan, I think a podium finish in Malaysia is a realistic target," says Tahir.

Interestingly, Ammad Shakeel Butt, already in Malaysia, playing for the national side in the Asian Champions Trophy in Kuantan, will join the junior team for the SOJC.

Schedule of Pakistan’s matches: October 31 vs New Zealand, November 1 vs England, November 2vs Malaysia, November 4 vs Aus, November 5 vs Japan.

November 6: Tournament’s final and matches for the 3/4th and 5/6th positions.

Teams will be appearing in matches on three successive days. This goes against the FIH rule which states there must be a 24-hour rest after two international matches played over consecutive days.

However, the FIH relaxed the rule for this particular event as almost all the sides at SOJC desired sufficient time for their final preparatory camp before the Junior World Cup, starting from December 8 in the Indian city of Lucknow.

Pakistan under-21 team: Mohammad Dilber, Ali Raza, Atif Mushtaq, Hassan Anwar, Mubasshir Ali, Ammad Shakeel Butt, Abu Bakar Mahmood, Faizan, Junaid Kamal, Tazeem-ul-Hassan, Shan Irshad, Azfar Yaqoob, Muhammad Dilber, Muhammad Atiq, Bilal Qadir, Mohsin Sabir, Rana Suhail Riaz, Sami Ullah, Muhammad Rizwan, Umar Hamdi.