Mahfuzur Rahman, the sports enthusiastic chairman of ATN Bangla, baffled the national hockey players during the MoU signing ceremony of school hockey at BOA auditorium yesterday saying Bangladesh hockey team would play the Test if they finish sixth in next month’s Asia Cup Hockey.
The occasion was the MoU signing between Bangladesh Hockey Federation and the First Security Islami Bank Ltd, where ATN Bangla was also a party. Mahfuzur, who last year was the chairman of Bangladesh Football Federation’s School Football Committee, has taken up the responsibilities of school hockey this year.
He declared he successfully completed the BFF’s national school football where 4,800 schools across the country participated and at the end of the road saved Tk10m from the sponsorship money of Tk50m.
But talking about the hockey, he said if Bangladesh finish sixth in Asia Cup next month the country will earn Test status and will play Tests. A senior player of the national hockey team asked the reporter whether International Hockey Federation has introduced any new format in hockey named ‘Tests’. The chairman of ATN Bangla also hoped Bangladesh will qualify in hockey of next Olympics. In hockey two teams can engage themselves in a series of friendly matches and call it a Test series.
The anchor of the program also introduced Mahfuzur as one of the top ten tax payers of the country raising the question whether it is a business or finance related press conference.
There is no doubt about his sports enthusiasm, but many questioned whether it is right to talk about any sports events that does not exist, particularly in a highly attended press meet like this.
