Despite failing to qualify through the Men鈥檚 AHF Cup in April, the Bangladesh hockey team is expected to receive an opportunity to participate in the forthcoming Men鈥檚 Hockey Asia Cup, potentially replacing Pakistan, who may withdraw from the tournament.
The eight-team Asia Cup is scheduled to take place in Bihar, India, from August 27 to September 7, supposedly with the participation of the top two finishers from April's AHF Cup鈥擮man and Chinese Taipei鈥攁longside the six auto qualifiers鈥擨ndia, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and China.
In the AHF Cup, which served as the qualifiers event for the Asia Cup, Bangladesh finished third after losing to Oman 5-4 in the semi-finals in Jakarta, Indonesia, on April 25.
鈥楾he Asian Hockey Federation informed us that Bangladesh might have an opportunity to participate in the Asia Cup. It also asked whether we want to participate,' Bangladesh Hockey Federation's general secretary Lt Col (retd) Riazul Hasan told reporters at his office on Saturday.
鈥榃e showed our interest. We have also requested the AHF to confirm its decision soon so that we can start our preparation. We are expecting to receive official confirmation by Monday,鈥� he said.