The Indian Senior Men Team, featuring three players from Odisha, settled with the silver medal in the 31st Sultan Azlan Shah Cup International Hockey Tournament after going down to Belgium by a solitary goal in the hard-fought final at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia today.
The three Odisha players were: Amit Rohidas, Nilam Sanjeep Xess and Shilanand Lakra. The 20-member Indian team was led by Sanjay. While Belgium won their maiden Sultan Azlan Shah title, New Zealand bagged the bronze medal, defeating host Malaysia 6-1 earlier in the day.
This was the fourth silver and 16th medal for India at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which was first held in 1983. The 16 medals include five gold (1985, 1991, 1995, 2009, 2010), four silver (2008, 2016, 2019, 2025) and seven bronze (1983, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2015, 2017).
Belgium and India qualified for the final after securing the top two positions with 13 and 12 points respectively in the league stage. India won four of their five league matches and suffered one defeat against Belgium. A total of six teams participated in the 31st edition, which commenced earlier on November 23.
INDIAN MENS HOCKEY SQUAD: Goalkeepers: Pawan, Mohith Honnenahalli Shashikumar. Defenders: Chandura Boby, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Yashdeep Siwach, Sanjay (Captain), Jugraj Singh, Amit Rohidas. Mid-fielders: Rajinder Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Nilakanta Sharma, Ravichandra Singh Moirangthem, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen. Forwards: Sukhjeet Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Selvam Karthi, Aditya Arjun Lalage, Dilpreet Singh, Abhishek. Head Coach: Craig Fulton.
INDIA RESULTS:
23 November 2025: India (Mohammed Raheel Mouseen 15-PC) beat South Korea 1-0.
25 November 2025: Belgium (Roman Duvekot 17-FG, 46-FG, Nicolas De Kerpel 45-PC) beat India (Abhishek Nain 33-FG, Shilanand Lakra 57-FG) 3-2.
26 November 2025: India (Karthi Selvam 7-FG, Sukhjeet Singh 21-FG, Amit Rohidas 39-PC, Sanjay 53-PS) beat Malaysia (Faizal bin Saari 13-PC, Mohammad Fitri bin Saari 36-FG, Muhammad Jalil 45-PC) 4-3.
27 November 2025: India (Amit Rohidas 4-PC, Sanjay 32-PC, Karthi Selvam 54-FG) beat New Zealand (George Baker 42-FG, 48-PC) 3-2.
29 November 2025: India (Nilakanta Sharma 4-FG, Rajinder Singh 10-FG, 24-PC, Jugraj Singh 12-PC, 26-PC, 39-PC, 50-PC, Amit Rohidas 15-PC, 46-PC, Dilpreet Singh 25-FG, Karthi Selvam 43-FG, Sanjay 56-PS, Abhishek Nain 57-FG, 59-FG) beat Canada (Brendan Guraliuk 11-PC, Matthew Sarmento 35-PS, Jyothswaroop Sidhu 55-PC) 14-3.
30 November 2025: Belgium (Thibeau Stockbroekx 34-FG) beat India 1-0.
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PHOTO: File picture Odisha and India trio of (L-R) Amit Rohidas, Nilam Sanjeep Xess and Shilanand Lakra.