Defending champions Bangladesh crushed Kazakhstan 8-1 in the semifinal to reach the final of the nine-nation Men’s Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Cup 2022 at the GBK Hockey Field in Jakarta on Saturday.
With the day’s feat, Bangladesh not only reached their fourth straight final but also qualified for the final round of the next Men’s Asia Cup Hockey with direct qualifiers – India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Pakistan– as one of the top three teams of the ongoing AHF Cup 2022.
Bangladesh will play the final against Oman on Sunday at 6:00 pm Bangladesh Standard Time.
Oman defeated Sri Lanka by 2-1 goals in the first semifinal, also held on Saturday.
In the day’s one sided 2nd semifinal, Ashraful Islam scored four goals, last match’s hattrick- maker Khorshedur Rahman struck two while Rasel Mahmud and Shohanur Rahman Sabuj scored one goal each for Bangladesh.
Earlier, Bangladesh crushed Singapore 7-0, defeated hosts Indonesia 7-2, pummeled Iran 6-2 and scraped past upper-ranked Oman 3-2 in the Pool B matches of the nine-team AHF Cup, also a qualifying meet for the next Men’s Asia Cup Hockey.