Bangladesh reached the semifinals of the ongoing fourth Bangabandhu Cup 2024 International Kabaddi Tournament after beating Poland by 79-28 points in their fourth match at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium in Mirpur on Thursday.

The three-time champions earned a total of seven lonas against the European opponents – three in the first and the rest of four in the second half – to secure their biggest margin of victory in the ongoing edition so far.

Skipper Arduzzaman Munshi collected the highest 25 points and was adjudged the man of the match while Razib Ahmed contributed the second highest 15 points for the hosts.

“Every team comes here to win. Every player wants to play well. I’m also trying to give my best for the team… Poland are a good team, but two of their players had some injury issues,” said Arduzzaman after the match.

“In the group stage, I thought South Korea were the toughest opponents. But they did not play their game as expected. Still I wouldn’t call Korea a weak team. However, I think Kenya or Thailand are more likely to be our opponents in the semifinals,” he said when he was asked about their expected opponents in the semis, which will take place on 2 June.

Bangladesh earlier beat South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia by 67-22, 73-22 and 59-19 points respectively in their previous matches.

The holders will face Nepal, who are just behind them, in their last group match to confirm their place in this five-team group at the same venue today.

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