SPORTS REPORTER

Bangladesh national hockey team, who finished among the top two in the last three Asian Games qualifiers, now find themselves on the brink of elimination -- or qualification -- for the 2026 Asian Games, depending on the outcome of today’s crucial clash against Hong Kong in Thailand.

The 2014 champions, who finished runners-up to Oman in 2018 and 2022, failed to reach the semifinals this time after being held to a 1-1 draw by Uzbekistan in their third and final pool match.

With the top six teams from the nine-team qualifiers securing berths for September’s Asian Games in Japan, Bangladesh have been pushed into the fifth-to-eighth place classification matches. Victory over Hong Kong is now their only route to qualification -- a stage Bangladesh have never previously failed to reach.

Putting aside their recent struggles, Bangladesh are focused on delivering in this must-win encounter. Historically, they have enjoyed a strong record against Hong Kong, remaining unbeaten in their last five meetings since 2012, including identical 5-1 wins in the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games qualifiers.

“Our backs are now against the wall, and there is no alternative but to win against Hong Kong,” said forward Rakibul Hasan Rocky, adding that failure to qualify would be a major setback for Bangladesh hockey.

“However, we are ready to give our maximum because we are determined to win at any cost,” he said. “We may have beaten Hong Kong in the past, but there are no small teams now as all sides have improved. Still, we want to keep our unbeaten run intact, even though Hong Kong have also performed well in this tournament.”

Hong Kong have shown resilience in the ongoing qualifiers, pushing stronger sides like Oman in a narrow 2-1 defeat and putting up competitive performances against Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Thailand.