Bangladesh ended their campaign at the Men’s Junior Asia Cup Hockey with a convincing 5-2 win over Chinese Taipei in Moqi, China, on Saturday to finish seventh in the tournament.
Bangladesh played with attacking intent from the start and kept Chinese Taipei under pressure for much of the match. Their approach paid off as they found the net five times.
Mohammad Rifat led the way with two goals. Munna Islam, Tayyeb Ali and Mohammad Abdullah also scored once each to complete a comfortable victory.
The result gave Bangladesh a positive finish to a campaign that had ended their hopes of returning to the Junior World Cup. They had featured at last year’s Junior World Cup but this time failed to finish among the top five teams in the Asian tournament, the positions required to secure qualification.
Bangladesh’s World Cup hopes had already ended after a 6-2 defeat to Japan in their sixth-place classification match. They responded well in the final placement game, however, producing their best attacking display when it mattered.
The seventh-place finish means Bangladesh leave China without a World Cup berth, but the win over Chinese Taipei provides some encouragement for the young side.
