Korea test first up

Having played against similar-or-lower-strength sides in the Asian Games Qualifiers a week ago in Bangkok, Bangladesh hockey team are now set to compete against superior opponents in the Asia Cup, with their first match against South Korea in Indonesia today.

The men in red and green performed well throughout the Asian Games Qualifiers to extend their winning record to 10 matches before being thrashed 6-2 in the final by Oman.

The team's coach Iman Gobinathan Krishnamurthy will want to see his charges shrug off that disappointment and put up an improved performance against the Koreans.

"We want to improve our game [against Korea]. Tournament in Bangkok was a rollercoaster for a few players," Krishnamurthy told The Daily Star yesterday. "Mentally the players are all right but I'm a bit concerned about the physical part of the players because any team, even world champions, will have a problem playing the back-to-back tournaments within a week. So it will be physically a challenging tournament."

Although Bangladesh lost 3-2 against Korea in the 2021 Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka, they were thrashed by big margins by the four-time Asia Cup champions in their previous three meetings – two 7-0 defeats in the 2014 and the 2018 Asian Games and 9-0 defeat in the 2013 Asia Cup. 

"Korea have won more tournaments than India in Asia in the last four years. They won the Azlan Shah Trophy in 2019 and ACT 2021. They also brought back most of their important players to boost the team," informed Krishnamurthy, hoping that his players will get the tactic right against Korea, especially after playing two practice matches against Indonesia and India.