Pakistan thump Bangladesh to top group at 2026 Men's Junior Asia Cup

HULUNBUIR: Rana Waheed Ashraf scored a brace as Pakistan outclassed Bangladesh 3-0 in the Pool B match of the 2026 Men's Junior Asia Cup here at the Moqi Training Base on Wednesday.

The victory marked Pakistan's fourth consecutive win in the ongoing continental tournament, which also serves as the Qualifier for the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup, and thus finished atop Pool B standings with 12 points and a goal difference of 23.

Pakistan, having already qualified for the semi-finals, entered the fixture with high spirits and thus made a flamboyant start to the recently concluded fixture with Ashraf scoring twice in the first quarter.

The second and penultimate quarters remained goalless despite multiple penalty corners being awarded to Pakistan and Bangladesh, and the Green Shirts eventually struck in the 52nd minute through Ghulam Mustafa to further bolster their lead to 3-0, which remained intact until the final whistle.

Pakistan, due to face South Korea in the semi-final on Friday, started their Junior Asia Cup campaign with a resounding 15-0 victory over Kazakhstan before inflicting a 4-2 defeat on host nation China in their subsequent group-stage fixture.

The Green Shirts next locked horns with Malaysia and prevailed 5-2 to power their way into the knockout stage.

In the Women's Junior Asia Cup, the national team booked their spot in the quarter-finals following a 1-1 draw against Kazakhstan.

Zhansaya Amangeldi gave Kazakhstan an early lead in the high-stakes fixture, which remained intact until the final quarter, during the fifth minute of which Pakistan netted the equaliser through their captain Shariqa Sarwar.