Bangladesh won the title by defeating Oman in a tiebreaker in the AHF Cup last March. Two months later, the two teams will meet in the Asian Games hockey selection final. The Bangladesh hockey team had to see the coin’s reverse side this time.
The red-green team could not find the front of the Middle Eastern country. The Bangladesh national hockey team became runners-up after losing 6-2 to Oman in the final held in Bangkok on May 15. In the last edition also, Bangladesh was runners-up after losing 2-0 to Oman.
Bangladesh was confirmed before the final round of the Asian Games after reaching the semi-finals. But the main goal of the competition was to win the title. Though the opponent was Oman, the players of Bangladesh were confident. However, the Ashraful-Rabbis could not compete with Oman in the field battle.
Bangladesh scored three goals in the first half. A penalty corner from Al Shabir gave Oman the lead in the fourth minute of play. Three goals from Al Fahad and Al Salah gave Oman an advantage. Because of this, Bangladesh entered the game with an advantage. Either side scored no goals in the second quarter. Bangladesh’s chances of a comeback were dashed in the third quarter by Al Qasim’s field goal.
Ashraful Islam’s penalty corner goal helped Bangladesh close the difference in the fourth quarter. It was 6-1 after 59 minutes, thanks to goals from Al Fazir and Al Shibli. Fazle Rabbi’s goal just before the end of the game didn’t do anything to close the margin. On May 8, because of Corona, the Asian Games were temporarily postponed. I don’t know what he plans to do next. The Asian Hockey Federation has continued selecting hockey events for the Games despite the suspension.