Defending champions Bangladesh reached the final of the Men鈥檚 Junior (U-21) AHF Cup as they came from one goal down to beat Chinese Taipei 5-1 in the first semi-final at the Seng Kang Sports Centre in Singapore on Saturday.
Bangladesh will face China, who beat Thailand 4-0 in the day鈥檚 other semi-final, in the 11-team tournament final at the same venue today.
Meanwhile, there was success for the Bangladesh women鈥檚 team as well when they qualified for the Women鈥檚 Junior Asia Cup Hockey for the first time with a crushing 10-1 win over Indonesia in the Women鈥檚 Junior (U-21) AHF Cup on Saturday.
Bangladesh women had participated only once in this tournament before, that was in 2019, where they won only a single match and finished fifth among six teams.
In the men鈥檚 semi-final, Chinese Taipei got a fifth-minute lead courtesy of a field goal from Cheng-Ze Wei but Bangladesh were level within the next few seconds through Mohammad Joy鈥檚 field goal.
Amirul Islam (16th, 31st) scored a brace from penalty corners, and Md Abdullah (23rd, 58th) scored another two field goals to complete the rout.
Bangladesh reached the last-four as the Pool A champions after 7-0, 4-2, 5-0, and 7-0 wins over Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and hosts Singapore, respectively.
In the women鈥檚 category, Arpita Paul smashed a treble while Airin Riya and Kona Akter each scored a brace. Nadira Ema, Lima, and Sanjida Moni also scored one goal each for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh are currently in third position of the seven-team league format competition with 12 points from five matches.
The top four teams will play in the Women鈥檚 Junior Asia Cup. Bangladesh will play their last match against Singapore on Monday, which will decide their final position.
Chinese Taipei are leading the table with 15 points from five matches, while Thailand are in second place with 12 points from six games, and the fourth-placed Hong Kong have six points from five matches.
