The Bangladesh women’s cricket team encountered an unexpected situation on the opening day of the Asian Games. The squad, led by Nigar Sultana Joty, had accepted an invitation from China to play a friendly cricket match. Despite arriving at the Kharogi Athletic Park Stadium well ahead of the scheduled 9:00 AM start on Saturday, the team was left waiting as their opponents never showed up.
Team manager Faiyaz Ahmed noted that the players reached the venue by 7:30 AM to prepare for the contest. However, they were soon informed by the stadium curator that the game would not proceed. As it became clear that the Chinese side had no intention of appearing, the Bangladesh team pivoted their schedule to conduct a practice session ahead of their upcoming semifinal match.
The match had been arranged following a specific request from China, which was relayed to the Bangladesh women’s team through Vinod Kumar Tiwari, Deputy Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). Because the Bangladesh squad already had a practice session scheduled for Saturday, they decided to integrate the friendly into their training routine. The sudden absence of the Chinese team, despite them being the ones who initiated the request, caused significant frustration within the Bangladesh camp.
Imroz Ahmed, the Chef de Mission for the Bangladesh contingent, formally lodged a protest with the OCA official, Vinod Kumar Tiwari. Expressing his bewilderment, Ahmed remarked that the team had coordinated with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to fulfill the request, only to be left waiting without any notice. He noted, “The Olympic Council of Asia asked us to play a friendly match with them. After finalizing all arrangements, they failed to turn up. I have reported this to the OCA.”
While no official explanation has been provided by the Chinese side, the Bangladesh Chef de Mission speculated on a possible underlying issue. According to Ahmed, China may have wanted to upgrade the friendly to an official match, a proposal the Bangladesh management declined. He suggested that there might have been a communication breakdown between the organizers and the Chinese team regarding the nature of the encounter.
In the aftermath of the formal protest, Vinod Kumar Tiwari expressed his regrets to the Bangladeshi delegation. The situation was further compounded by the lack of courtesy shown to the Bangladesh players; the organizers failed to inform the team that the match had been canceled until they were already on the field. Previously, China had been eliminated from the Asian Games after their quarterfinal match was abandoned due to rain. It is believed they sought the friendly as a way to return to the field, yet they ultimately failed to appear, leaving Joty and her teammates to focus solely on their training for the semifinals.
