Bangladesh keep winning in Asian Cup Hockey

Bangladesh registered their second straight victory in the Fifth Men's Asian Hockey Federation Cup beating Chinese Taipei comfortably by 4-2 at King's Park Stadium in Hong Kong on Monday. The men in red and green are now just a step away from making it to the semifinals as Pool A champions. They will take on bottom-side Macau in their last group match on Wednesday and a draw would be enough to secure top place from Pool A where Bangladesh currently sit at the summit with six points from two matches. Bangladesh, the reigning AHF Cup champions having won the last two editions in 2012 and 2008 in Thailand and Singapore respectively, began the game brightly and dominated the opening half, scoring three goals without shipping any. Young forward Rumman Sarkar put the Bengal Tigers ahead in the 17th minute from a field goal before under-18 youngster and drag-and-flick specialist Ashraful Islam doubled the lead from a penalty corner in the 24th minute. Experienced forward Russel Mahmud Jimmy, who was recently handed the captain's armband for the first time since 2012, extended the lead five minutes later. Chinese Taipei tried to script a comeback after resumption, duly making it 3-2 following goals from Lu Sung-Ting and Tseng Hsien-Yi in the 41st and 48th minute respectively but Mamunur Rahman Chayan, who missed out from the last national squad due to poor form, scored again for Bangladesh in the 56th minute from a penalty corner to seal victory. Earlier, Bangladesh began their campaign with a facile 4-2 victory over hosts Hong Kong in the inaugural match of the tournament.RESULTBangladesh 4 (Rumman 17, Ashraful 24, Jimmy 29, Chayan 56) 2 Chinese Taipei (Lu 41, Tseng 48)