Amirul Islam struck a second successive hat-trick as Bangladesh produced a remarkable comeback to hold South Korea 3-3 in their second match of the Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2025 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai, India, on Sunday.
South Korea raced to a 3-0 lead in the first half, but Bangladesh staged an inspired fightback in the final two quarters, driven by the in-form Amirul, who had also scored a treble in the opening match.
Lee Minhyeok scored twice for Korea—first from a penalty corner and then from a penalty stroke—while Son Seunghan added another from a penalty corner to put the Koreans firmly in control within just 17 minutes.
Bangladesh earned the first penalty corner of the match in the fourth minute but failed to convert. Amirul eventually pulled one back from their second penalty corner in the 36th minute. He added two more, also from penalty corners, in the 46th and 56th minutes to complete the comeback.
This is Bangladesh’s debut appearance in the Junior World Cup after qualifying for the first time in history.
The junior boys in red and green lost their opening match 5-3 against Australia despite Amirul’s earlier treble.
Bangladesh will face France on Tuesday in their third and final group-stage match.
