Niloy treble helps BD into Rd 2
Niloy treble helps BD into Rd 2
Forward Hasan Jubair Niloy slotted a hattrick as Bangladesh beat Hong Kong 3-1 in their last match of the first round of Hockey World League (HWL) at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday to move into the second round as champions.
Bangladesh, who took this tournament as part of their preparation for the upcoming Asian Games as well, did win both their matches but failed to impress with their performance against lowly Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. These performances indicate that a tough challenge lies ahead of them in the Asian Games pool where they will play against South Korea, Malaysia and China.
"I am not happy with the way our boys played today (Sunday). Everyone played their own style instead of following the game plan. The players are also suffering from fatigue due to three months of training. However, I think they will be at their peak in terms of fitness during the Asian Games and you will find everything different," said Bangladesh coach Naveed Alam after the match.
Bangladesh, who needed just a draw to advance to the next round, toiled to break the opposition defence and took 27 minutes to open their account against Hong Kong, who were beaten 1-6 by Sri Lanka in their first match. Niloy opened the account with a reverse hit after receiving the ball from Pushkor Khisa Mimo.
Bangladesh looked a bit more organised after the break and snatched three penalty corners, one of which Niloy, availing a weak push, managed to hit fiercely at the back of the board.
Hong Kong brought some intensity to their game and pulled a goal back in the 51st minute from a penalty stroke, converted by Ka Ha Chan. However, Hong Kong failed to sustain the challenge and when Niloy snatched his first international hattrick in his 54th minute, the game was all but over.
"I am happy with my performance but we could not play according to plan. There was a problem upfront and the defending was also poor too but I am confident that we will play well in the Asian Games by rectifying the mistakes we made in the last two matches," said tournament's top scorer Niloy.