Organisers postpone Sultan Azlan Shah Cup due to Coronavirus outbreak

Kuala Lumpur: The 29th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup has been postponed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the events organising committee said on Monday (March 2).

The tournament was scheduled to be held between April 11 to 18 in Malaysia. 

"The health and well-being of the teams, especially Australia, Canada, and Japan, should be taken into consideration as not to jeopardise their preparation for Tokyo Olympics 2020," the organiser said in a statement.

The committee has proposed the tournament to be rescheduled from September 24 to October 3. 

The decision has been conveyed to FIH, AHF, MHC and the participating teams. 

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual invitational international men's field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. 

The novel coronavirus was first detected in China in late December and has since spread to more than 50 countries, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global health emergency. So far, the virus has infected thousands of people across the world, while claiming the lives of around 3,000 people.