Bangladesh’s junior (Under-21) penalty corner specialist Amirul Islam continued his stunning form at the Junior Hockey World Cup, scoring back-to-back hat-tricks to keep his team in contention. After netting a treble against Australia in the opening match, Amirul repeated the feat on Sunday, helping Bangladesh recover from a three-goal deficit to secure a 3-3 draw against South Korea.
At Chennai’s Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Bangladesh fell behind early. Korea opened the scoring in the 8th minute through Lee Min Hyuk, before Son Seung Han doubled the lead from a penalty corner in the 13th minute. Korea extended their advantage to 3-0 in the 17th minute of the second quarter with another penalty stroke from Min Hyuk. The scoreline remained unchanged at the break.
Bangladesh’s comeback began in the third quarter when Amirul converted a penalty corner in the 36th minute. In the final quarter, Bangladesh earned four more penalty corners, with Amirul converting strikes in the 46th and 56th minutes to complete his hat-trick and ensure a hard-fought 3-3 draw.
Bangladesh will face France in their final group stage match on 2 December.
