Heavy rainfall in the capital Friday paved the way for a rare occasion in the country's hockey scenario as the Hero Asia Cup 2017 classification match between China and Oman was postponed due to persistent rain, leaving the Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium waterlogged throughout the day.
Bangladesh's 5th-place deciding game against Japan, scheduled to start at 5:30pm, was delayed for half-an-hour as the rain stopped at around 5pm. China and Oman were scheduled to face each other at 3pm but continuous rain forced the players and staffs of both the teams to leave the venue at around 3:15pm.
If the Bangladesh-Japan match takes place uninterrupted, the China-Oman game is set to be played after the end of Bangladesh's game Friday, at 8:30pm.
When this report was updated, Bangladesh were trailing Japan 1-0 after the second quarter.
The unplayable situation of the hockey pitch caused by heavy rainfall is a rare scenario in the hockey arena. According to former hockey star and Bangladesh Hockey Federation vice-president Khwaja Rahmatullah, veteran organiser Yusuf Ali and experienced coach Kauser Ali, rain never forced the postponement of an international match in Bangladesh before.
"It never happened before, that an international game got postponed due to rain. Sometimes it happens in domestic fixtures but it only delays the game for some time. The pitch requires sufficient water. The absence of water and the sudden flow of water due to heavy rain caused the pitch to be unplayable," said Rahmatullah Friday.
Among three main types of synthetic hockey turf, Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium is situated at Paltan maidan. It is chiefly a water-based turf. The turf requires watering before, during and after every match to keep the pitch wet and to avoid it from wear and tear. Rahmatullah also informed that it took around half-an-hour for the accumulated water to drain away.
There was also slight rain Thursday but it didn't hamper any game. The first half of Bangladesh's win over China was played during the rain.
