Bangladesh face Chinese Taipei in do-or-die clash

Smarting from a 4-1 defeat to Malaysian in their AHF Men's Hockey Asia Cup opener on Friday, the Bangladesh team are determined to put up a gritty performance in today's crucial encounter against Chinese Taipei in Bihar.

"Our target is to finish third in the four-team group, so the match against Chinese Taipei is a do-or-die affair for us," head coach Moshiur Rahman Biplob told The Daily Star over the phone from Rajgir yesterday.

"If the boys can stick to the game plan while maintaining team structure and shape, I believe we have a good chance of winning the match," said the former national player.

Chinese Taipei, who suffered a crushing 7-0 loss to South Korea in their opening match, came into the tournament with better preparation. They finished runners-up in the qualification tournament held in March. In contrast, Bangladesh had just three weeks of preparation after being called in on short notice to replace Pakistan.

However, history favours the men in red and green. Bangladesh beat Chinese Taipei comfortably in their previous two encounters -- a 4-2 victory in the AHF Cup in 2016 and a resounding 11-3 win in the Asia Cup in 2013.

Bangladesh fared better against Malaysia than they did in the previous edition in Jakarta in 2022, where they suffered an 8-1 defeat. The margin could have been even narrower this time if the forwards had capitalised on opportunities during counter-attacks.

"Our strategy was to play quarter by quarter, keeping the scoresheet clean and looking to exploit counter-attacks. We succeeded in the first quarter and even took the lead in the second, but the boys couldn't maintain the momentum against an opponent ranked 13th in the world," said Biplob, adding that Malaysia scored three of their goals from transition moments.

Biplob is optimistic that his players will improve as the tournament progresses.

"The artificial turf is very fast, which led to a lot of missed passes and made it difficult to control the ball. But I believe the boys will adapt and get better with each match," he said.