A confident and spirited Bangladesh Under-18 hockey team will take on Oman on Tuesday in their second Pool A match in the fourth edition of the Boys' U-18 Asia Cup Hockey at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium. The match begins at 3pm.
Following their nail-biting 5-4 win against favourites India on the opening day of the tournament, a draw against Oman would be enough for the boys in red and green to finish the group stage as Pool A champions. Oman conceded a huge 11-0 defeat against India on Sunday and Bangladesh will also be looking forward to a convincing victory against the Arab nation.
Bangladesh are likely to face China in the semi-finals if they earn at least a point on Tuesday while Dhaka could witness an India-Pakistan battle in the last four this Thursday. The line-ups will be finalised on Tuesday after China face Chinese Taipei at 11am and Pakistan lock horns with Hong Kong at 1pm.
The home side are in a jolly mood following their amazing victory against India where drag-and-flick specialist Ashraful Islam netted four goals. Ashraful will be eyeing to add more goals to his tally while attackers like Romman Sarkar, Arshad Hossain and Fazle Hossain Rabby would also want to get their names on the scoresheet.
Bangladesh Hockey Federation vice president Khwaja Rahmatullah informed earlier that Bangladesh never lost to Oman in any age-level tournament. Bangladesh beat Oman twice in the eighth Men's Junior Asia Cup Hockey last November. They won 5-4 in the group stages where Ashraful scored twice and Romman and Arshad added one apiece.
Bangladesh got the better of Oman again in the classification match in Malaysia, courtesy a 3-2 win in the penalty shoot-out.TODAY'S MATCHESChinese Taipei v China, 11amPakistan v Hong Kong, 1pmBangladesh v Oman, 3pm
Thursday, April 25, 2024
