Bangladesh's Rakibul Hasan (left) celebrating after scoring against China in the Men's Junior Asian Hockey Federation Cup final. SINGAPORE – When his team needed a hero to step up, Bangladesh’s Rakibul Hasan duly obliged for the second year running as the 21-year-old played a pivotal role in their Men’s Junior Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Cup triumph again. While his equaliser in the 2023 final against hosts Oman forced a penalty shoot-out which Bangladesh won 7-6, his heroics in the 2024 edition in Singapore helped them seal the title in quicker fashion.
With two early field goals, he lifted his team to a 4-2 victory over China in the final on June 23 at the Sengkang Hockey Stadium. Rakibul’s brace, which sandwiched a penalty corner conversion by Amirul Islam, settled their nerves. While China fought back to narrow the deficit through Luo Jialong and Chen Xianzhen, Obaidul Hossain Joy added a fourth for the holders.
In the process, Bangladesh have also qualified for the Junior Asia Cup along with the other top-five teams. Rabikul said: “These feelings are good, we came to this tournament to win and we did. So now we focus on the Junior Asia Cup.
I can’t express the feelings I have now in words.” He added that he wants to learn “something special” from strong teams such as India, Malaysia and Pakistan at the continental competition, where Bangladesh coach Ashiquzzaman said they will be “fighting for a top-six finish”. The Junior Asia Cup will also serve.