Litton targets final as Bangladesh prepare for Malaysia quarter-final

Bangladesh captain Litton Das is keeping his focus on reaching the final of the Asian Games cricket tournament rather than looking too far ahead to the prospect of winning gold, with a quarter-final against Malaysia awaiting his team tomorrow (29 September).

Bangladesh will face Malaysia at Nishin Korogi Sports Park in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan. Speaking at a press conference today (28 September), Litton reiterated that reaching the final was the team's first objective.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are among the other Test-playing nations competing in the cricket event, making the race for gold a challenging prospect for Bangladesh. Asked about his team's ambitions with several strong sides in the tournament, Litton stuck to the target he had outlined before leaving Bangladesh.

"Before leaving the country, I said our first target was to reach the final. Whether we win gold is a matter for later, but tomorrow's match is very important for that. For now, we are focusing on that," he said.

Bangladesh's women's cricket team endured a disappointing campaign at the Games, losing the bronze-medal match to Pakistan. Across all events, Bangladesh have so far won just one bronze medal, in wushu, increasing the expectations surrounding the men's cricket team.

Litton, however, said he was not feeling any additional pressure.

"Not at the moment. Let's play the first match. If we win, we'll think about what comes next," he said.

Bangladesh's preparations in Japan have not gone entirely to plan, with rain washing out training sessions at the cricket venue. On Monday, the day before their quarter-final, the team had to train on a football field instead.

Litton said the team had anticipated the possibility of limited training opportunities in Japan and had prepared accordingly before leaving home.

"We trained a lot back home, and I told the players that we might not get the opportunity to practise after arriving in Japan if it rains. So we had to prepare mentally for that possibility," he said.

He also acknowledged that cricket was not particularly popular in Japan and that there had been some uncertainty over the availability of suitable facilities.

"The players prepared back in Dhaka, and I think they are ready to play," Litton added.

Bangladesh must now overcome Malaysia in the quarter-final to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive.