Bangladesh finish sixth again in Asia Cup hockey
Finishing sixth means Bangladesh will not directly play in the World Cup qualifiers.
Bangladesh also finished sixth in the previous edition of the Asia Cup hockey, and this time too Rakibul Hasan, Ashraful Islam and their teammates are returning from India with the same result. Today, at the Bihar Sports University Hockey Stadium in Rajgir, India, Bangladesh lost 6–1 to Japan in the fifth–sixth place play-off. Amirul Islam scored Bangladesh's only goal.
Japan, ranked 18th in the world and 11 places above Bangladesh (29th), conceded three penalty corners in the opening eight minutes. However, Bangladesh failed to take advantage of any of them. Instead, they conceded the opening goal in the ninth minute. Just before the end of the first quarter, Shinohara Rosuke doubled Japan's lead.
Bangladesh managed to hold Japan goalless in the second quarter. But in the third and fourth quarters, their defenders faltered again. Between the 35th and 38th minutes, Japan struck twice. In the fourth quarter, Bangladesh pulled one back but conceded two more.
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Finishing sixth means Bangladesh will not directly play in the World Cup qualifiers. This time, after Pakistan withdrew from the tournament, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) introduced a special rule: only the top five teams qualify directly for the World Cup qualifiers. The sixth-placed team must play a play-off against Pakistan.
As a result, after today's defeat to Japan, Bangladesh will face Pakistan in a three-match play-off series. Only by winning that series will Moshioor Rahman's side secure a place in the World Cup qualifiers. The Asian Hockey Federation has yet to finalise the venue and schedule of the series, but Bangladesh are hoping to host it in Dhaka. Hockey Federation general secretary Lt. Colonel Riazul Hasan (retd.) told Prothom Alo today, "We will try to host the series in Dhaka. Although our turf is old, if the Asian Hockey inspection team is satisfied with it, there should be no problem."
Since 1982, Bangladesh have participated in the Asia Cup hockey 12 times, with their best result being a fifth-place finish.
