Bangladesh have secured a place in the hockey event of the Asian Games after a tense win in the qualifiers.
They beat Hong Kong, China 3-2 in a shootout after a 4-4 draw in regulation time. The match took place at the Royal Thai Air Force Hockey Ground in Bangkok on Thursday.
Bangladesh were close to a clear win. But late goals from Hong Kong, China brought the match level and forced a shootout. Bangladesh stayed calm in the tiebreaker and got the result.
In the Asian Games hockey qualifiers, nine teams are playing across two pools. The top six teams will qualify for the main event in Japan next September. With this win, Bangladesh made sure of a top six finish.
Bangladesh started well. In the fourth minute, Rakibul Hasan scored from open play. A minute later, Amirul Islam made it 2-0 from a penalty stroke. Hong Kong, China pulled one back soon after.
No team scored in the second quarter. Early in the third quarter, Ahmed Ishtiaq equalised for Hong Kong, China from a penalty corner. Later in the same quarter, Ashraful Islam gave Bangladesh the lead again from another penalty corner.
The final quarter was full of action. Around the 48th minute, Hong Kong, China scored twice before and after Ashraful converted another penalty corner. The score became 4-4 and the match went to a shootout.
In the shootout, Waidul Joy, Roman Sarkar and Fazle Rabbi scored to secure the win.
Bangladesh had started the tournament with a 4-3 win over Chinese Taipei. They then lost 3-2 to Sri Lanka and drew 1-1 with Uzbekistan. That pushed them into the classification round.
After finishing third in the group, Bangladesh played in the 5th to 8th matches. This win confirmed their place among the top six teams. They will now face Chinese Taipei on Friday with a chance to finish fifth.
Bangladesh have now qualified for the Asian Games hockey event for the 12th time. Their best result remains a sixth place finish in 1978 and 2018.
