Bangladesh has been crowned champions of the Women’s Hockey Under-20 AHF Cup. The red and green girls defeated Kazakhstan 2-0 in the final on Saturday night, with Safa Rimon earning the Best Player of the Match award for her outstanding performance in the final.
Bangladesh had previously defeated Kazakhstan 2-1 in the round robin league stage of the competition. This triumph represents Bangladesh’s greatest achievement since the women’s hockey team was established in 2019. The team had finished as runners-up in the previous edition of the Junior AHF Cup.
Bangladesh took the lead late in the first quarter through a brilliant field goal by Irene. Early in the second quarter, Emma Nadira extended the advantage with a goal from a penalty corner. Bangladesh held firm over the remaining two quarters to secure a convincing victory.
The tournament featured five teams — Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Hong Kong, China. Bangladesh went through the entire competition undefeated to claim the title. They opened their campaign with a 6-0 demolition of Pakistan, followed by a hard-fought 1-0 win over Uzbekistan. In their third match, the team ran riot against Pakistan once more, winning 8-0. Notably, Pakistan failed to win a single match throughout the tournament.
The women’s team is set to depart Oman on Sunday and return home to a heroes’ welcome. If all goes to plan, the champion side is expected to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 3:10 p.m. Bangladesh time.
