Bangladesh finished eighth in the 10-nation Asian Games hockey after losing their last game to Oman 2-3 in Incehon, South Korea yesterday.
Despite preparing for three months under the guidance of Pakistani coach Naveed Alam, Bangladesh failed to show the level of hockey required to cope in the top-level competitions. Starting with a nil-8 loss against Japan, they suffered a 5-1 thrashing against Malaysia in their second game. Bangladesh defeated Singapore 2-1 before conceding a nil-7 defeat to South Korea. The young and inexperienced team, comprising 11 players who tasted their first international exposure, simply failed to cope with the competitiveness at the top level. The loss against Oman categorically showed that Bangladesh failed to fill the vacuum of some experienced names.
Bangladesh went ahead in the 11th minute from a penalty corner which was converted by Pushkor Khisa Mimo and kept the lead till the second quarter. In the third quarter, Ahmed Sabil Habib restored parity with a field goal in the 33rd minute. Musa Khalafan scored another field-goal four minutes later to put Oman ahead. Forward Krishna Kumar equalised in the 39th minute only to see Basim Omar restore the lead again from a penalty corner in the last minute of the quarter.
Bangladesh beat Oman 6-1 in their last meeting in Dhaka. With the match, coach Naveed also ended his contract with the Bangladesh Hockey Federation. He was appointed in July 2013 and has guided Bangladesh to the AHF Cup trophy and Hockey World League Round 1 winners.
