Hockey Asia Cup 2025: Depleted China stuns South Korea, Bangladesh powers past Kazakhstan

After a rain-soaked night, the Asia Cup 2025 matches at Rajgir Sports Complex were once again interrupted by Mother Nature on Thursday. The Super 4s clash between China and South Korea was stopped due to torrential rain, before a sunshower graced most of Bangladesh’s 5-8th place classification clash against Kazakhstan.

China, seeking to rebound from a tough loss to Malaysia, pulled off a major upset against defending champion South Korea in the Super 4s, after Bangladesh thrashed Kazakhstan to set up a fifth-place decider against Japan.

China’s 3-0 victory was even more remarkable considering it was without two of its key players, Lu Yuanlin and Du Shihao, who were suspended after a skirmish in the previous match. This left China with a numerical disadvantage, fielding only 14 outfield players.

Despite being shorthanded in player rotation, China started the match aggressively, trading blows with South Korea in the first quarter. China’s defence, known for its solid structure, frustrated Korea, which struggled to break through the Chinese low block. 

This defensive strategy paid off, drawing out the Korean players and creating opportunities for China to counterattack. In the 11th minute, China was awarded a penalty corner, and Benhai Chen capitalised on the opportunity to score the opening goal.

In the second quarter, South Korea intensified its attack but failed to convert the chances. It had five penalty corners and multiple opportunities from open play, but could not find the back of the net. The half ended with China holding on to its narrow lead.

As the second half began, South Korea, visibly fatigued from a gruelling match less than 16 hours ago, started to show signs of wear. As its intensity waned, China seized the opportunity to push more players forward. Jiesheng Goa scored China’s second goal from only its fourth penalty corner in the 43rd minute. Just 30 seconds later, Chen scored his second goal of the match, extending China’s lead to 3-0. The match then got interrupted for over 25 minutes due to rain. 

After the restart, China defended with numbers and kept Korea at bay to win the contest. With this victory, China registered its first points of the Super 4s and moved ahead of India, who have played one game less.

When asked about the suspensions, China’s assistant coach, Roelant Oltmans, clarified that they were a result of a fight against Malaysia, for which the officials held the Chinese players responsible. Oltmans stated that the suspensions did not affect the team’s approach to the match and expressed optimism about “the players returning fresh for the upcoming game against India”.

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Earlier in the day, in a match between two replacement teams of the tournament, Bangladesh, stepping in for Pakistan, defeated Kazakhstan, which replaced Oman.

The game started at a fast pace, with both teams aggressively pushing into the opponent’s circle. Kazakhstan, despite having conceded 35 goals in its three previous matches, started strongly, while Bangladesh took time to find its rhythm.

Once Bangladesh had settled in, it began to dominate possession. In the 11th minute, Ashraful Islam scored his third goal of the tournament off the team’s first penalty corner. Islam then doubled the lead in the 23rd minute from a penalty stroke. Roman Sarkar added another goal just before half-time, putting Bangladesh up 3-0.

In the third quarter, Kazakhstan became more adventurous, pressing forward to try and get on the scoreboard. Bangladesh capitalised on this, scoring two quick goals. Despite being down, Kazakhstan continued to push for a goal, and in the 38th minute, Altynbek Aitkaliyev’s deflected shot found its way past the Bangladeshi goalie, marking Kazakhstan’s second goal of the tournament.

The final 15 minutes were all Bangladesh. Kazakhstan continued to attack in search of another goal, but Bangladesh’s defence held strong. Though Bangladesh missed at least three open-net opportunities on counterattacks, it ultimately secured a 5-1 victory.

Despite the win, Bangladesh coach Mosiur Rahman Biplob was not pleased with his team’s performance. “Honestly, I’m not happy with the performance,” he said. “We missed a lot of chances and also defended poorly.”

Looking ahead to the fifth-place decider against Japan, Biplob remains cautious, calling Japan the favourites. “Japan is a big team,” he stated. “It will be tough for us, but my boys will compete. We just have to play as a team, something which we didn’t do today.”

Published on Sep 04, 2025