Image description
A file photo of the Bangladesh hockey team | Courtesy photo.

Bangladesh Hockey Federation rued their lack of preparation and called up eight players from the Under-21 team as they announced an 18-member squad for the forthcoming AHF Men’s Asia Cup 2025 on Wednesday.

Mosiur Rahman Biplob has been appointed as the coach, while defender Rezaul Karim Babu has been named as the captain.Ìý


Biplob earlier served as the assistant coach of the Under-21 team, who confirmed Bangladesh’s maiden entry into the Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup 2025, placing fifth in the Junior Asia Cup in December 2024.

Bangladesh are going to participate in the tournament in the place of three-time champions Pakistan, who withdrew from the tournament due to security concerns.

They have been placed in Pool B alongside defending champions South Korea, Malaysia, and Chinese Taipei in the tournament, scheduled to be held in Rajgir, Bihar, in India from August 27 to September 7.

Apart from Pakistan, 2025 AHF Cup champions Oman also withdrew from the competition, paving the way for Kazakhstan in the 12th edition of the tournament.

The BHF got official confirmation of their entry into the tournament from the Asian Hockey Federation on August 18.

Bangladesh commenced their preparations for the competition a week later; they received initial confirmation from the AHF regarding their readiness to participate in the tournament in late July.

The team had a 10-day conditioning camp with 24 players before announcing the final squad, who played a practice match against the Army hockey team at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium on Wednesday.

Bangladesh will leave for India on August 26 with their short-time preparation to compete in the tournament, from which the champion team will secure a direct entry to the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands.

'We commenced our camp upon receiving a signal from the AHF. However, due to the rush, we find ourselves lacking in preparation, particularly in terms of fitness, compared to the other teams participating. Nevertheless, we are optimistic about delivering a strong performance in the tournament,' stated BHF secretary Lt Col (retd) Riazul Hasan to reporters on Wednesday.

Biplob echoed Riazul and said, ‘Our first target is to finish third in the pool. And to do that we will need a win and a draw. And overall our target is to finish fifth, which will help us to go further with playing the play-offs later in the tournament against Pakistan.’

Biplob informed that the top team will directly advance to the World Cup and the sixth-ranked team will have a chance to qualify for the World Cup by winning against Pakistan in the play-offs.

Bangladesh will face Malaysia in the opener on August 29 before facing Chinese Taipei and record five-time champions South Korea on August 30 and September 1, respectively.

The top two teams from each pool will advance to the Super Four stage, with the final scheduled for September 7 between the first- and second-placed teams of the Super Four stage.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Biplob Kujur, Nuruzzaman Noyon; Defenders: Rezaul Karim Babu (captain), Ashraful Islam, Farhad Ahmed Shitul, Sohanur Rahman Sabuj, Hojaifa Hossain, Amirul Islam, Mehedi Hasan; Midfielders: Roman Sarkar, Fazle Hossain Rabbi, Al Nahian Shubho, Toyob Ali, Tanvir Rahman Siam; Forwards: Obaidul Hossain Joy, Rakibul Hasan, Arshad Hossain, Md Abdullah.

Standby: Shahidur Rahman Saju. Ìý Ìý Ìý

Ìý