Bangladesh U-20 men's and women's hockey teams have left Dhaka to participate in the 'U-20 Junior Asia Cup 2026' to be held in China. Players and officials of both teams left for China from Shahjalal International Airport at 9.45 pm on Saturday.

The two teams have been preparing intensively for a long period to compete against the top teams in Asia. The Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHFE) has sought prayers and support from the countrymen for the ultimate success of the U-20 men's and women's teams.

Earlier, the official send-off and partnership agreement signing ceremony of Bangladesh U-20 men's and women's junior national hockey teams was held in a very festive atmosphere at the Crowne Plaza Dhaka in the capital at the same day. The main objective of this event organised by the Bangladesh Hockey Federation was to inspire the young hockey champions who are going to participate in the upcoming 'Junior Asia Cup 2026' (China) and to conclude agreements with official sponsors.

The U-20 team faced the Bangladesh national hockey team in their last warm-up match at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium in the capital on Friday, just before entering the field for this mega tournament. In this highly competitive and high-scoring warm-up match, the junior team ultimately lost to the senior national team by a margin of 4-3 goals.

Players from both the senior and junior teams presented an excellent display of offensive hockey in the match. The dynamic hockey of the youth against the experience of the national team kept the match exciting until the last moment. Star player Ashraful played a key role in this victory of the national team, who took a magnificent hat-trick with his magical skills with the stick. Rocky scored the remaining 1 goal for the national team.

On the other hand, the U-20 team put up great resistance in this tough conditioning match before facing the Asian superpowers. They were able to score 3 goals by breaking the strong defense of the seniors. Johnny, Tayyab and Ashraful Alam each scored a goal for the junior team. Despite losing, the coach believes that such a fighting performance against the country's best senior players will boost the confidence of the junior team before entering the main stage of the Junior Asia Cup.