7-star Bangladesh move top of Pool B

A brilliant hat-trick from Sohanur Rahman Sabuj powered Bangladesh to a resounding 7-0 win over Singapore in their second match of the AHF Cup at the Gelora Bung Karno Hockey Field in Jakarta today.

With their second win on the trot, the men in red and green moved to the top of Pool B with six points, three more than Indonesia and Oman. Singapore are at the bottom of the table after suffering defeats in all three matches. 

Buoyed by a thumping 7-2 win over hosts Indonesia in their opening game, the charges of Iman Gobinathan Krishnamurthy did not waste much time to take the lead. Penalty corner specialist Ashraful Islam converted the attempt to score the opener before Sabuj doubled the margin in the 14th minute from inside the circle.

In the second quarter, Bangladesh kept their dominance over Singapore to create more chances and Sabuj struck his second goal as he altered the direction of a square-pass from Mimo in the 27th minute to find the back of the net. 

However, Bangladesh faced a bit of resistance from Singapore in the third quarter.

But Bangladesh took total control of the game in the fourth and final quarter of the game as Arshad Hossain sent a rebounder home in the 46th minute.

Khorshedur Rahman made it 5-0 in the 54th minute by converting a penalty corner before Sabuj completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute after availing a square-pass from Mimo, who finally wrapped up the victory with the seventh goal in the 60th minute.

Bangladesh will play their third match against Iran on Tuesday.