Korea hand Bangladesh heavy opening defeat

Bangladesh suffered a 5-0 defeat to South Korea in their opening Pool A match of the Asian Games men's hockey tournament at Kawasaki Juko Stadium in Japan.

The Bangladesh team managed to hold off the powerful South Korean attack for the first 20 minutes. However, their resistance broke in the 21st minute of the second quarter when South Korea scored twice in a matter of seconds. Bae Soung-min opened the scoring with a field goal, and Oh Se-yong quickly doubled the lead to send his team into halftime with a 2-0 advantage.

South Korea increased the pressure in the third quarter. Lee Gang-san struck a field goal in the 30th minute, and Yang Ji-hun added a fourth from a penalty corner just two minutes later.

Despite Bangladesh's efforts to reduce the deficit in the final quarter, they failed to break through the Korean defence. Sim Jae-won sealed the 5-0 victory with a final field goal in the 58th minute. In total, South Korea scored four field goals and one from a penalty corner.

Reflecting on the defeat, Bangladesh captain Roman Sarkar admitted his team struggled against superior opposition.

"Our experience is not good enough. Korea is a very good team," Sarkar said after the match. "We just did not play our game. We have to try our best in our next match against Japan and be more focused."

Despite the heavy loss, the captain found some positives in his team's effort on the pitch but stressed the need for better finishing.

"Of course I am happy, but we needed to score," he added. "We had a chance for our team also, but we did not achieve it. That is why we need more focus and dedication in the team."

Bangladesh will look to bounce back when they face Japan in their next group match on Tuesday, 22 September.