BD take on Japan today
The Bangladesh national hockey team will take on Japan in the opening match of the Hockey World League (Round-2) in Singapore today, with an aim to give their superior opponents a run for the money.
The 30th-ranked Bangladesh, who had lost against 14th-ranked Japan by 0-8 goals in the Asian Games in September, had a relatively good preparation despite losing against Malaysia U-21 and Ukraine while winning convincingly against Malaysia U-23 team in practice matches ahead of the tournament.
“Japan is a good team but our target is to put up a good show and perform better than we did in the Asian Games,” said assistant manager Rafiqul Islam Kamal over phone yesterday. “I think our team is in good shape as the coaching staff worked on the mistakes they made during three practice matches.”
In yesterday's practice session, the Bangladesh team analysed the video footages of their Asian Games' match against Japan.
“Last time, we gave Japan a lot of space but this time we are not going to do that and each player will be marked,” said Kamal.
Bangladesh will take on the other Pool B opponents -- Poland (ranked 18th) and Mexico (ranked 35th) on Sunday and Tuesday respectively.
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