Bangladesh men's kabaddi team suffered a significant setback in their hunt to end a two decade long Asian Games medal drought, going down 40-37 to hosts Japan in their third Group A match at the Tokai-dori Indoor Stadium in Nagoya on Tuesday, September 22.
A win over Japan would have guaranteed Bangladesh a semi final berth and at least a bronze medal, their first in men's kabaddi at the Games in 20 years. Instead, their fate now depends entirely on Wednesday's final group match against defending champions India.
The setback arrived after a promising start to the tournament, with Bangladesh having beaten both South Korea and Chinese Taipei in their opening two matches a day earlier, results that had fuelled genuine optimism around their medal prospects.
Japan, by contrast, had suffered a heavy 49-24 defeat to India in their own previous fixture, making Tuesday's outcome all the more surprising for a Bangladesh side widely expected to have too much quality for their hosts.
Bangladesh struggled badly from the outset, undone in part by overconfidence heading into the match, with Japan seizing an early lead and pulling further ahead after inflicting an all out to secure a crucial lona.
The hosts went into the break with a commanding 22-15 lead, having controlled the tempo throughout the opening half while Bangladesh captain Mizanur Rahman, usually one of the side's most reliable raiders, was repeatedly caught attempting raids of his own.
Japan extended their advantage further early in the second half, inflicting a second all out within five minutes of the restart to stretch their lead to 11 points, a cushion that appeared to put the contest firmly beyond Bangladesh's reach.
Bangladesh did mount a spirited fightback from there, earning a three point lona to trim the gap to 34-28, before narrowing it further to a single point at 35-34 roughly three minutes later, briefly raising hopes of a remarkable turnaround.
However, a review taken at a critical juncture backfired, with a Bangladeshi raider ruled out of the court and Japan capitalising with an excellent tackle worth two points to restore a four point cushion, effectively ending Bangladesh's momentum.
With both sides having exhausted their reviews before the closing three minutes, Japan managed the remainder of the match cautiously, denying Bangladesh any further scoring opportunities as the clock wound down towards a 40-37 final margin.
Bangladesh's overall second half performance, in which they scored 22 points to Japan's 18, was ultimately not enough to overturn the deficit built up before the interval, leaving their players visibly dejected as the final whistle sounded.
Attention now turns to Wednesday's decisive clash with India, a match Bangladesh must win to keep their medal hopes alive.