Bangladesh's U-20 women's hockey team were eliminated from the semifinal race of the ongoing U-20 Women’s Junior Asia Cup Hockey after suffering a 2-0 defeat to strong Japan in a highly competitive quarterfinal held on Thursday in Moqi, China.
Bangladesh advanced to the knockout stage as unbeaten champions of the Challenger Pool and entered the quarterfinal with confidence. The red and green brigade fought hard against Japan but failed to find the net.
Bangladesh's campaign in the tournament, however, is not over yet. They will play their final classification match on Saturday either against Malaysia or South Korea.
A victory in the classification match will see Bangladesh finish fifth in the tournament, while a defeat will leave them sixth.
Despite the quarterfinal setback, head coach Arif Ali remains hopeful of keeping Bangladesh's World Cup dream alive.