Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 5-1 for first Asian Games hockey win

Nagoya, Japan, 24 Sept - Bangladesh secured their first victory in men’s hockey at the 20th Asian Games, beating Sri Lanka 5-1 in a one-sided encounter held at at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Nagoya  Japan on Thursday. Bangladesh dominated the match from the outset and took the lead in the first quarter through Amirul Islam.

They extended their advantage in the second quarter as Roman Sarker’s side continued to control the proceedings.

Amirul Islam and Ashraful Islam scored two goals each for Bangladesh, while Mahbub Hossain supported them with a lone goal for the red and green brigade.

Bangladesh earned more than fifteen penalty corners throughout the match, keeping the Sri Lankan defence under sustained pressure.

Sri Lanka pulled one goal back through Kushal, but the effort proved little more than a consolation as Bangladesh comfortably secured all three points.

The victory marked Bangladesh’s first win in the men’s hockey competition at the ongoing Asian Games. 

Bangladesh will play their remaining group matches against Indonesia and India on September 26 and 28 respectively at the same venue.

Earlier, Bangladesh began their Asian Games campaign losing to South Korea by 5-0 goals in their opening group match and conceded 6-1 defeat to Japan in their second match.BSS