India will begin their campaign 13th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, from January 8-18, 2004, with a match against Germany.
The 13th edition of the tournament will feature seven top flight teams in world hockey.
World champions Germany, who finished second last year, are the top draw. The other top teams are defending champions Pakistan, India, Australia and South Korea.
Three teams, Germany, Australia and South Korea, have already booked berths to the Athens Olympics next year. The other four teams will play in the qualifying tournament, which will be held in Madrid Spain in March.
Thus, for varying reasons the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil will prove crucial for all the teams.
India had pulled out of the last edition after the government denied it permission to make the trip, due to the harassment of Indian IT professionals in Malaysia.
Except for Spain and Malaysia all the other teams have won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup before. India won the event thrice (1995, 1991 and 1985). Pakistan also has won it thrice (1999, 2000 and 2003), while Germany (1987 and 2001) and Australia (1983 and 1998) won twice. England (1994) and Korea (1996) won once.
Fixtures:
TABLE.sco{COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: arial; FONT-SIZE: 12px; TEXT-DECORATION: none}
| Day/Date | No | Time | Match |
| Thursday 08 Jan 2004 |
1 | 16h05 | Korea vs Pakistan |
| 2 | 18h05 | India vs Germany | |
| 3 | 20h05 | Malaysia vs Spain | |
| Friday 09 Jan 2004 |
4 | 16h05 | Pakistan vs India |
| 5 | 18h05 | Spain vs Australia | |
| 6 | 20h05 | Germany vs Malaysia | |
| Saturday 10 Jan 2004 |
7 | 18h05 | Australia vs Korea |
| Sunday 11 Jan 2004 |
8 | 16h05 | Korea vs Germany |
| 9 | 18h05 | Malaysia vs India | |
| 10 | 20h05 | Pakistan vs Spain | |
| Monday 12 Jan 2004 |
11 | 18h05 | Malaysia vs Australia |
| 12 | 20h05 | Pakistan vs Germany | |
| Tuesday 13 Jan 2004 |
13 | 18h05 | Korea vs Spain |
| 14 | 20h05 | India vs Australia | |
| Wednesday 14 Jan 2004 |
15 | 16h05 | Spain vs Germany |
| 16 | 18h05 | Pakistan vs Malaysia | |
| 17 | 20h05 | India vs Korea | |
| Thursday 15 Jan 2004 |
18 | 18h05 | Australia vs Pakistan |
| Friday 16 Jan 2004 |
19 | 16h05 | Spain vs India |
| 20 | 18h05 | Germany vs Australia | |
| 21 | 20h05 | Malaysia vs Korea | |
| Saturday 17 Jan 2004 |
Rest Day | ||
| Sunday 18 Jan 2004 |
22 | 08h05 | 5-6th Classification Match |
| 23 | 15h35 | 3-4th Classification Match | |
| 24 | 18h05 | Final | |
Roll of Honour:
| Year | Venue | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Fourth |
| 1983 | Kuala Lumpur | Australia | Pakistan | India | Malaysia |
| 1985 | Ipoh | India | Malaysia | Pakistan | Spain |
| 1987 | Ipoh | Germany | Pakistan | Britain | Malaysia |
| 1991 | Ipoh | India | Pakistan | U.S.S.R | New Zealand |
| 1994 | Penang | England | Pakistan | Australia | Malaysia |
| 1995 | Kuala Lumpur | India | Germany | New Zealand | Canada |
| 1996 | Ipoh | Korea | Australia | Malaysia | Britain |
| 1998 | Ipoh | Australia | Germany | Korea | New Zealand |
| 1999 | Kuala Lumpur | Pakistan | Korea | Germany | Canada |
| 2000 | Kuala Lumpur | Pakistan | Korea | India | Malaysia |
| 2001 | Kuala Lumpur | Germany | Korea | Australia | Pakistan |
| 2003 | Ipoh | Pakistan | Germany | New Zealand | Korea |