South Korea is the most successful hockey team in the Asia Cup. They have participated in this competition 10 times and have won five championships. Today, Bangladesh lost to South Korea 5-1.
Bangladesh’s expected loss has confirmed that they will play Malaysia and South Korea in the last four from Pool ‘B’. However, Bangladesh did not go to India with the dream of playing in the last four. The Bangladesh hockey team’s bird’s eye view is to take advantage of the sudden opportunity to make it to the World Cup qualifiers by not playing Pakistan. That fight for Bangladesh will start with the fifth to eighth place play-off.
The World Cup Hockey will be held in Belgium and the Netherlands next year in August. If they are among the top six in the Asia Cup, they will get a chance to play in the Hockey World Cup qualifiers. However, to get that chance, they have to win another match. Bangladesh is absolutely certain to finish third in Pool ‘B’. In their first match in the place-fixing play-off, Bangladesh’s potential opponent is Kazakhstan, the fourth team in Pool ‘A’. If Bangladesh wins that match on September 4, they will get a chance to qualify for the qualifiers, and will also get a chance to play the fifth and sixth place matches.
Bangladesh hockey team awaits real fight after loss to Korea
Bangladesh gradually built up resistance despite not being able to stand up to South Korea in the first quarter at the Bihar Sports University Hockey Stadium in Rajgir, India. Despite conceding 2 goals in 11 minutes, they managed to finish the match 5-1.
Biplob Kujur had to struggle to stop the South Korean attack from the start. Korea’s Son Dain scored a brace in the first quarter. Bangladesh got a penalty corner in the 13th minute. But they could not capitalize on that opportunity. Despite competing with South Korea for possession of the ball in the first quarter, Bangladesh could not put a single shot on target.
South Korea also showed its attacking prowess in the second quarter. Lee Seung-woo scored the third goal in the 16th minute. And Bangladesh also conceded the fourth goal in the 21st minute. Despite falling behind by four goals, Mashiur Rahman’s team kept looking for opportunities. Finally, Sohanur Rahman scored the first goal from a penalty corner in the 23rd minute.
Bangladesh hockey team awaits real fight after loss to Korea
Bangladesh got another chance to reduce the gap in the 29th minute. But this time, they could not score from a penalty corner. Bangladesh handled South Korea well in the third quarter. But they could not be stopped in the fourth quarter, conceding the fifth goal and losing the match 5-1.
A Korean attack on Bangladesh’s goal
A Korean attack on Bangladesh’s goal
South Korea is much stronger than Bangladesh. The team is also ranked 15th in the rankings. And before this match, Bangladesh had never won in five matches. In those five matches, Bangladesh had conceded 32 goals.
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