The tournament was originally awarded to Dubai, United Arab Emirates by the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) in a 2008 meeting.

However, it was swapped to Malaysia due to the inability of the hockey facility to be complete in Dubai Sports City on time.

[2] South Korea won their third title and qualified for the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi, India, after defeating Pakistan 1–0 in the final.

[citation needed] Only eight teams were to compete in this tournament, divided by two pools.

However, Sri Lanka withdrew from the tournament few days before the commencement, having replaced Oman before the withdrawal.