Bangladesh were held to a 1-1 draw by Uzbekistan in their final group-stage match of the Men’s Asian Games 2026 qualifiers at the Royal Thai Air Force Hockey Field in Thailand on Monday.
With this defeat, Bangladesh are out of the semi-final race, and now they will have to play a place-deciding playoff to determine their qualification for the upcoming 20th Asian Games.
Bangladesh, who began the tournament with a 4-3 win against Chinese Taipei and suffered a 3-2 defeat against Sri Lanka finished third with four points from three matches.
While Uzbekistan also ended on four points but progressed to the semi-finals due to a superior goal difference.
Bangladesh will now face the fourth-placed team from Group A in a play-off on Thursday, with their opponents yet to be confirmed.
In the day’s match, Mironshokh Ortikboyev gave Uzbekistan an early lead by converting a penalty corner in the sixth minute, while Amirul Islam scored late in the 46th minute from a penalty stroke to keep their hopes alive.
Bangladesh squandered six penalty corners which eventually cost them the win.
The top six teams from this qualifying tournament will earn a spot in the Asian Games, scheduled to take place in Aichi–Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.
