Bangladesh hockey team will begin their Asian Games 2018 campaign with a crucial tie against Oman in the first match of Group B at GBK hockey field in Jakarta, Indonesia Monday at 3pm, Bangladesh Standard Time.
With some of the world’s top kabaddi nations participating in the Asiad, Bangladesh have set their target to finish among the top six. But to achieve that, Oman will be their main obstacle as Bangladesh lost to the former in the classification match of the last edition in Incheon.
Drag-and-flick specialist Mamunur Rahman Chayan said ahead of the game that it could be his last Asiad campaign but he is concentrating more on the Oman game because a defeat would make Bangladesh’s chance of finishing fifth more difficult.
Bangladesh began their @asiangames2018 hockey campaign with a 7-1 loss against India in the warm-up match at GBK Sports Complex in Indonesia Friday.https://t.co/plpyJFfQHp#HOCKEY #BANGLADESH #BANGLADESHHOCKEY #ASIANGAMES #ASIANGAMES2018 #2018 #INDIAHOCKEY #BANGLADESHHOCKEYTEAM
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) August 17, 2018
Placed in Group B, Bangladesh will face Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand and Kazakhstan in the upcoming matches. Defeating the much higher-ranked Pakistan and Malaysia will not be Bangladesh’s priority, but getting full points against Thailand and Kazakhstan will be very much on the cards.
The hockey team led by head coach Gobinathan Krishnamurthy played five practice matches in South Korea before coming to Indonesia and played their last warm-up game against India at the match venue Friday. Gobinathan said it would be a deserving prize for the players’ hard work prior to this tournament, if they beat Oman.