Bangladesh beat Kazakhstan, boost hopes for FIH World Cup Qualifiers

Bangladesh confirmed at least a sixth-place finish in the AHF Hockey Asia Cup after beating Kazakhstan 5-1 in the 5th-8th place deciding match in Rajgir, Bihar, India, today.

Bangladesh will next play the 5th-6th place deciding match on Sunday against Japan, who beat Chinese Taipei 2-0 on Wednesday.

Bangladesh, who also finished sixth in the previous edition of the Asian Cup in 2022, now have the chance to qualify directly for the FIH World Cup Qualifiers if they overcome Japan. A defeat, however, would mean Bangladesh must play a three-match playoff series against Pakistan -- who withdrew from the ongoing Asia Cup due to security concerns over traveling to India -- to secure their place in the qualifiers.

Meanwhile, the champions of the ongoing Asia Cup will directly qualify for the FIH World Cup, while the next top five teams will earn spots in the qualifiers.

Bangladesh, who had already beaten Kazakhstan twice -- 3-0 and 5-1 -- in the AHF Cup in Indonesia last April, took the lead in the 10th minute today as penalty-corner specialist Ashraful Islam converted a set piece. He doubled the margin in the 23rd minute with another penalty corner.

Roman Sarkar made it 3-0 from open play just before halftime. He struck again three minutes after resumption, widening the margin to 4-0 with a penalty corner, before Tayeb Ali extended the lead to 5-0 from open play in the 34th minute.

Kazakhstan's Altynbek Aitkaliyev pulled one back in the 38th minute. However, Kazakhstan, who earned their Asia Cup spot after AHF Cup champions Oman opted out, could not avoid a third defeat in six months against Bangladesh.