Sports Desk:

Bangladesh suffered a 4-1 goal defeat to strong Malaysia in their opening pool B match of the eight-team Men’s Asia Cup Hockey 2025 held at Bihar Sports University Hockey Stadium in Rajgir, India on Friday.

After a scoreless first quarter, Ashraful Islam gave Bangladesh a lead converting a penalty corner in the 16th minute but Malaysia staged a fight back to restore the parity in the 25th minute through a field goal in the 25th minute.

Malaysia took the lead in the third quarter scoring a field goal in the 36th minute and scored the remaining two goals in the 48th and 54th minutes of the final quarter to seal their comprehensive victory.

Bangladesh will play their next match against Chinese Taipei tomorrow at the same venue at 1.30 pm.