Bangladesh aim to challenge India in IHF Nations Trophy final

Bangladesh face a daunting task in Thursday's Begum Khaleda Zia IHF Nations Trophy final, but head coach Ana Alonso Fragua wants her side to put up a far stronger fight against India after suffering a 47-13 defeat to the same opponents in the group stage.

The title decider is scheduled for 3pm at the Shaheed Captain M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium, where Bangladesh will seek to narrow the gap against a team their Spanish coach considers the strongest in the tournament.

With little time to prepare, Bangladesh focused on tactical adjustments in their final training session, aiming to reduce mistakes and prevent India from exploiting their pace on the counterattack.

"We had a good training session. The time was short and the intensity was a little lower. We mainly worked on a few new tactics for tomorrow's match," Alonso said after Wednesday's practice.

India's speed proved decisive in the previous meeting, as Bangladesh struggled to contain their opponents' fast breaks and conceded heavily. Alonso identified that weakness as the key area her team must address if they are to keep the final competitive.

"India were capable of playing at a fast pace for the full 60 minutes. And when they came forward on fast breaks, we couldn't stop their attacks. So, for me, the key is not to allow India the opportunity to go on fast breaks," she said.

Alonso remains realistic about the challenge but believes Bangladesh can deliver a better performance if they maintain their discipline throughout the match.

"Everyone knows India are the strongest team in this tournament. I have no doubt about that. But I believe we can do better. If we can compete with them for the full 60 minutes, then we will see what the result brings," she said.

Bangladesh also need greater composure in possession and more accuracy in attack. Alonso believes regular training and exposure to competitive matches will be essential to reducing the gap with India, whose players have spent several years building their combination.

Player Masuda Akter echoed her coach's determination, setting a more modest target than an outright victory.

"If everyone tries their best, we can certainly get a good result. Perhaps we can concede fewer goals than we did in the previous match and achieve something," Masuda said. Asiya Akter also stressed the importance of a collective effort as Bangladesh prepare for the toughest test of their campaign.

For the hosts, the final is an opportunity to show tangible progress after their heavy group-stage defeat. Overcoming India will be difficult, but a more disciplined display and a closer scoreline would offer Bangladesh a measure of improvement on the biggest stage of the tournament.