South Korea hand Bangladesh 5-0 defeat in hockey opener

Bangladesh began their Asian Games men's hockey campaign with a 0-5 defeat to South Korea in Pool A at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Japan on Friday.

The Bangladesh defence held firm for the opening 20 minutes, keeping the formidable Koreans at bay. However, South Korea eventually found a way through, scoring twice within seconds in the 21st minute to take control of the contest.

Bae Seong-min opened the scoring with a field goal before Oh Se-ung doubled the advantage in the same minute. Bangladesh went into the interval two goals down.

South Korea continued to turn the screw after the restart. Lee Gangsang extended their lead with a field goal in the 30th minute, while Yang Jihun converted a penalty corner two minutes later to make it 4-0.

Bangladesh, led by Roman Sarker, attempted to reduce the deficit in the final quarter but struggled to breach the Korean defensive wall. Instead, Shim Jaewon added a fifth with a field goal in the 58th minute to complete a convincing victory.

South Korea's five goals comprised four field goals and one penalty-corner conversion, underlining their efficiency in open play.

Bangladesh will look to regroup quickly, with Japan awaiting them in their next Pool A fixture on 22 September.