PHOTO: AHF

Bangladesh men’s hockey team just about made it to the 2026 Asian Games, edging Hong Kong 3-2 in a tense shootout after a 4-4 draw in the Men’s Asian Games Qualifiers in Bangkok yesterday. The men in red and green have never missed the Asian Games, finishing as top two teams in the last three editions of the Qualifiers.Yet this time, the 2014 champions could not reach the semifinals, leaving them in a must-win fixture to land among the top six in the nine-team competition and advance to the main event. “Winning against Hong Kong was like a stone being removed from our chests, because playing in the Asian Games has always been a matter of pride for Bangladesh,” forward Rakibul Hossain said. The outcome should serve as a wake-up call more than a celebration. “Missing out would have sunk our hockey, and we would not have been able to show our faces,” Rakibul added.