During World War II, a team of the hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, a member of the Gurkha Regiment, played an exhibition match at Armanitola in Dhaka.

Bangladesh started taking part in international hockey tournaments by participating in the 1st Junior World Cup for Asia/Oceania zone qualifying round in Kuala Lumpur in 1977.

In 1985, Dhaka hosted the Second Asia Hockey Cup, when captained by Chaklader, Bangladesh performed superbly in front of large crowds.

India, Pakistan, Korea, Malaysia, China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Iran, and Bangladesh took part in this tournament.

Bangladesh also hosted an international invitational hockey tournament in 1997, when India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were the participants.