Bangladesh concluded their campaign in the 2026 Women’s Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament with a 2-1 victory over Malaysia in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, on Saturday.
The victory in their final match secured Bangladesh fifth place — their best-ever finish in the competition.
The women in red and green started strongly and displayed excellent hockey from the outset, but neither team managed to find the net in the first half.
Bangladesh finally broke the deadlock in the third quarter when captain Sharika Rimon converted a penalty stroke in the 31st minute.
Kona Akter then doubled Bangladesh’s lead with a superb field goal in the 50th minute.
Malaysia pulled a goal back late in the match through Irdina Jefrey in the 59th minute, but Bangladesh held on to secure a memorable victory.
The result capped an impressive campaign for Bangladesh, who began the tournament with a 7-0 victory over Chinese Taipei before thrashing Pakistan 5-1, Kazakhstan 4-0 and Hong Kong China 6-0 to finish as unbeaten champions of the Challengers Group.
Bangladesh then suffered a 2-0 defeat to strong Japan in the quarterfinals, sending them into the fifth-place playoff, where they overcame Malaysia to finish fifth.
The result marks Bangladesh’s best-ever performance in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup, improving on their ninth-place finish in their maiden appearance in the competition in 2024.
