The schedule for the 2019 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia has been released. Earlier, ahead of the Indian men's hockey team's departure for the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia, skipper Manpreet Singh and his troops expressed their eagerness to compete in the first marquee event of the year. India begin their campaign against Japan on March 23 and will be looking to continue their winning form against the Japanese side who they last met during the Hero Asian Champions Trophy last year.

The Indian team will play their second game against Korea on March 24, while they play their nemesis and Asian Games Silver medallist Malaysia on March 26.

Below is the complete schedule of the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Men's International Hockey Tournament:

Date Match Time – IST Teams
Saturday, 23rd March 2019 1 13.35 India v Japan
2 15.35 Canada v Korea
3 18.05 Malaysia v Poland
Sunday, 24th March 2019 4 13.35 India v Korea
5 15.35 Poland v Korea
6 18.05 Japan v Malaysia
Tuesday, 26th March 2019 7 13.35 Japan v Canada
8 15.35 Poland v Korea
9 18.05 Malaysia v India
Wednesday, 27th 2019 10 13.35 Poland v Japan
11 15.35 Canada v India
12 18.05 Korea v Malaysia
Friday, 29th March 2019 13 13.35 India v Poland
14 15.35 Korea v Japan
15 18.05 Malaysia v Canada
Saturday, 30th March 2019 16 13.10 5/6th Placing
17 15.35 3/4th Placing
18 18.05 Final

Skipper Manpreet Singh, talking before the tournament said, "Though we are the highest ranked team in the tournament, we cannot get ahead of ourselves and have to take one match at a time rather than thinking directly about the final, as we have some tough encounters to begin with. Each step is important and the objective will be to ensure that we come out victorious in all our matches."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 19, 2019 09:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).