Bangladesh men鈥檚 team semi-final berth in the AHF Under-18 Asia Cup hockey was hanging in the balance following their 6-3 loss to Pakistan in their final Pool A match at the Dazhou National Hockey Training Centre in Dazhou, China, on Tuesday.
With the day鈥檚 result, Pakistan were leading the pool table with nine points from three games with their 9-0 and 8-0 wins over Sri Lanka and Hong Kong in their previous two matches.聽
While Bangladesh were in second place with nine points from four outings as they beat Hong Kong 3-0, Sri Lanka 13-0 and China 5-2 in their previous three encounters.聽
The defeat against Pakistan meant Bangladesh鈥檚 chances of securing a spot in the semi-final were lying on today鈥檚 match between Pakistan and China.
If Pakistan beat China, Bangladesh will progress to the semi-finals, but if China win by a three-goal margin, Bangladesh will be out of the last-four race.
The day鈥檚 match was evenly contested at the halfway mark, 3-3, before Pakistan scored three more goals in the remaining half of the game.
Ismail Hossain (15th and 29th) scored a brace with a field goal and another one from a penalty corner, while Din Islam (28th) scored once from a penalty corner for Bangladesh.
Abdullah Awan (third, 48th) and Ali Hanzala (19th, 60th) each scored a brace of field goals, while Ali Atif (23rd) scored from a penalty corner and Asam Haider (45th) scored a field goal for Pakistan.
