U-20 women hockey team loses to Malaysia in warm-up match

Dhaka, 1 Sept — Bangladesh U-20 women’s hockey team suffered a 4-1 defeat to Malaysia in a warm up match held today (Tuesday) as part of their preparations for the upcoming Junior Asia Cup Hockey Tournament in Moqi, China, 

The special three-quarter match featured twelve minutes per quarter. Bangladesh made an excellent start, taking a 1-0 lead in the opening quarter through a superb goal by Nolima Nupur, according to a message received here from Bangladesh Hockey Federation.

However, the physically strong Malaysian side quickly recovered from the early setback and gradually took control of the match, scoring four goals to secure a comprehensive 4-1 triumph. Despite the defeat, Bangladesh head coach Arif Ali found several positive aspects in his team’s performance.

“Malaysia is a very strong and physically big team. The girls fought quite well against them. However, we identified several weaknesses and shortcomings in certain areas of the match,” he said after the match.

He added that the team would immediately start working on the areas that need improvement.

Bangladesh U-20 women’s hockey team will face Chinese Taipei in their opening match of the main tournament. Coach Arif Ali expressed optimism that the team would rectify the mistakes identified in the preparation match before entering the main competition and take the field with the aim of securing a victory.BSS