Bangladesh’s ambition of securing a historic top-six finish in the men’s hockey competition at the Asian Games was shattered following a heavy 7-1 defeat against China in their classification match at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium on Thursday.
Head coach Peter Gerhard’s side were outclassed from the opening pushback, conceding two goals within the first five minutes and failing to recover from the early onslaught.
Chen Benhai starred for China with a hat-trick, supported by a brace from Zhang Jialing and individual goals from Zhao Yulai and Gao Jiesheng.
Bangladesh’s solitary response came on the stroke of half-time when forward Rakibul Hasan finished from open play.
Despite intense preparation under Gerhard, which included a warm-up tour to China, Bangladesh struggled to absorb pressure across all four quarters.
Bangladesh, who finished fourth in Pool A with six points from five matches, will now meet Thailand in the seventh-eighth place playoff on Saturday.
A victory against Thailand would secure seventh place, matching Bangladesh’s best-ever Asian Games hockey finish achieved on four previous occasions.
