Inauspicious start from Bangladesh

The Bangladesh national hockey team suffered a 0-5 defeat at the hands of their Pakistani counterparts in a practice match in Malaysia yesterday ahead of the AHF 9th Asia Cup, which begins from Saturday in Ipoh.
Under the supervision of Pakistani coach Naveed Alam, Bangladesh had a one-month preparation where the boys were trained not to concede too many goals against the strongest opponents like India and South Korea in the group-stage matches.
However, it is not still clear how much the boys learnt from the Pakistani coach as they conceded five goals against former Olympic champions Pakistan, in their first practice match. According to Naveed, there had been some mistakes in defence while the forwards wasted a few opportunities before Bangladesh showed their mettle in the second half where they conceded only two goals – one of them from a penalty corner.
Bangladesh could not grab a penalty corner throughout the 70-minute game against Pakistan, whose second-string side beat Bangladesh 3-0 in the hockey event of the SA Games in 2010 in Dhaka.
Striker Rasel Mahmud Jimmy hoped that everything would be overcome in the next two-day practice before their first match against South Korea on Sunday.
Bangladesh are scheduled to play their second practice match against Chinese Taipei today.