China moved closer to their first ever appearance in the semi-finals of the Asian Games men's field hockey with a 4-1 drubbing of Bangladesh here on Thursday. Defending champions South Korea made light of the rain and gusty winds to thrash lowly Oman 10-0 in another group B match at the Al Rayyan stadium.
China top the group with three successive wins and need only a draw against the Koreans on Friday to become the first team in the 10-nation competition to make the semi-finals.
South Korea have played only two matches and won both easily, the first being a 9-1 rout of Bangladesh on Tuesday. In Group A, Malaysia survived a scare from a fighting Hong Kong to win 2-1 and Japan trounced Taiwan 4-0 on a wet and cold evening.
China's best finish in the Asiad men's hockey was the fifth place at home in Beijing in 1990. Their women's team took giant strides and won the gold medal in Busan four years ago.