Amirul Islam continued his splendid form as his fifth hat-trick in just six matches guided Bangladesh to a thrilling 5-4 win over Austria in the 17th/18th place playoff on Monday, clinching the inaugural Challenger Trophy at the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2025.
This marked Bangladesh’s third consecutive victory in their debut Junior World Cup campaign.
After scoring in the previous five matches, Amirul struck again, putting Bangladesh ahead in the 15th minute by converting his side’s second penalty corner of the match. His piercing hit slipped past the Austrian goalkeeper to the right.
Hozifa Hossain converted the next penalty corner in the 27th minute—this time through the left side—as Bangladesh tightened their grip on the game.
Rakibul Hasan, who previously netted a hat-trick, extended the lead with a field goal in the 35th minute.
Despite Austria starting strongly, Bangladesh took control once Amirul opened the scoring.
Andor Losonci pulled one back for Austria in the 44th minute with a field goal.
Amirul then converted two penalty strokes in the 50th and 52nd minutes to complete his treble.
Austria hit back through Benjamin Kelner from a penalty corner in the 51st minute, before Julian Kaiser added another in the 57th minute, also from a penalty corner, intensifying the pressure on Bangladesh.
Mateusz Nyckowiak converted a penalty stroke two minutes before the final whistle to bring Austria within one goal, but their late surge fell short as Bangladesh held on for a memorable win.
The match in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, was Bangladesh’s final outing of the global showpiece, where they competed for the first time in history.
Bangladesh’s campaign turned into a fairy tale in their maiden appearance.
In the group stage, they fought valiantly despite defeats against Australia (5-3) and runners-up France (3-2), and came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with South Korea.
They ran riot against Oman in the opening match of the 17th–24th classification phase with a commanding 13-0 win—Bangladesh’s first-ever Junior World Cup victory—before securing an impressive 5-3 triumph against South Korea. Amirul scored in every match, including five hat-tricks.
He also netted hat-tricks against Australia, Oman, and twice against South Korea.
Bangladesh’s new drag-flick sensation has taken the tournament by storm, scoring 18 goals in six matches to lead the scoring chart among 24 participating teams.
The best team of the 17th–24th classification round received the Challenger Trophy, a new initiative introduced by FIH President Tayyab Ikram to inspire emerging teams.
After the match, Amirul expressed gratitude to his teammates and coaches for his remarkable run of form.
“First of all, I want to thank my teammates. I achieved this because of them. They always try to play good hockey. They win the penalty corners, and then I score — so the credit goes to them. I also want to thank our coaching staff for giving me the chance to take the penalty corners and for believing in me. I just tried to trust myself that I could score.”
With sticks raised and smiles all around, the Bangladesh boys danced in celebration after their famous debut campaign.
