It was a big win for the Kiwis (pictured top) as well as the first time they have won the competition in its 21-year history, as they took the chance to lay down a marker ahead of the Olympics at the end of July.

Andy Hayward struck the only goal of the game from a penalty corner in the 18th minute of the game.

It was not quite as straightforward as New Zealand's 5-2 win over Argentina in the preliminary round of the competition, however.

The Argentines threatened throughout with Kyle Pontifex having to be in good form in goal to keep the South Americans out.

Gonzalo Peillat went close from a penalty corner, seeing his shot saved, but despite a number of other close efforts, Pontifex was equal to whatever was struck at him and duly won the man of the match award.


"Sure, it is great to have won our first Sultan Azlan Shah Cup," said New Zealand coach Shane McLeod.

"It is no mean feat considering the opposition we have had to face.

"But we still have a fair bit of work to do before the [Olympic] Games start in July.

"This has been a good tournament for us and playing five other Olympic-bound teams is a bonus as we now know a lot more about them."

Third place went to India, who came from a goal down at half-time to beat Great Britain 3-1 and earn revenge for their defeat to the Olympic hosts in the preliminaries.

Ashley Jackson (pictured above, in white) had scored from a penalty corner just before the interval to ensure he finished as top scorer in the tournament.

Shivendra Singh, Sandeep Singh and Tushar Khandker all struck late in the second period to give India an impressive pre-Olympics victory.

The other teams competing in the competition were the hosts Malaysia, South Korea and Pakistan.

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