Bangladesh finish seventh

Bangladesh wrapped up their debut campaign in the Indoor Hockey Asia Cup with a seventh-place finish among 10 teams following a 9-0 thrashing of Chinese Taipei in a classification fixture in Chonburi, Thailand yesterday.

The Bangladesh team took a 5-0 lead in the first half before adding four more goals after the break in the 40-minute six-a-side affair, which is played on rubber surface.

Ashraful Islam, Milon Hossain and Farhad Ahmed Shitul scored two goals each while Rasel Mahmud Jimmy, Moinul Islam Koushik and Khorshedur Rahman scored one goal apiece for the men in red and green.

This was the second win for Bangladesh, who were participating in an indoor hockey tournament for the first time following three month’s training.

Bangladesh opened their campaign with a 6-0 defeat against three-time runners-up Malaysia before suffering an 8-0 defeat against seven-time defending champions Iran. Bangladesh thrashed Philippines 9-0 in their next match but lost 3-1 against Thailand in the following game to finish fourth in five-team group.

The win against Chinese Taipei at least gave Bangladesh the consolation of finishing above fellow debutants Nepal, Philippines and Chinese Taipei.

The team is scheduled to return tomorrow.