Chen's hat-trick sends China to hockey 5th-place playoff at Asian Games

NAGOYA, Japan, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chen Benhai scored a hat-trick as China defeated Bangladesh 7-1 in an Asian Games men's hockey classification match on Thursday, setting up a fifth-place playoff against Japan.

Zhang Jialiang added two goals for China, which scored in every quarter at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium. Japan beat Thailand 9-1 in the other classification match, with the two winners set to meet on Oct. 3 at the same venue.

China took control early, with Zhang opening the scoring from open play in the second minute and Zhao Yulai doubling the lead two minutes later.

Chen made it 3-0 in the 24th minute before Bangladesh pulled a goal back in the 30th, leaving China 3-1 ahead at halftime.

Penalty corners helped China extend its advantage in the third quarter. Gao Jiesheng scored in the 32nd minute, and Zhang added his second in the 44th to make it 5-1. Chen completed his hat-trick with goals in the 56th and 59th minutes.

Chen welcomed the win but felt he still had room to improve despite scoring three times.

"I'm very happy that the team won and I scored three goals. But honestly, I wasn't at my best today," he said. "I still had problems controlling the tempo and distributing the ball consistently, and I missed some chances."

Looking ahead to Japan, Chen said China would study its opponent's tactics and work on its own coordination.

"We'll take it one match at a time and aim to produce a better performance for this tough contest," he said.

China finished third in Pool B with three wins and two losses for nine points. Only the top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals, while the third- and fourth-placed sides enter the classification matches for fifth to eighth place.

Although medals are no longer at stake, classification matches also count toward the International Hockey Federation's world rankings. Points are adjusted after each match according to the result, the teams' pre-match rating difference and the competition's weighting.