Booters grieve for Badal from Qatar

It has been a gloomy couple of days in the country’s sports fraternity after the death of one its most celebrated footballers of the past, Badal Roy, and the sadness was felt beyond the boundary of the country. 

Bangladesh football team players, who are in Qatar now for their World Cup and Asian Cup joint qualifying rescheduled match, paid homage to their predecessor. 

“We, all the national players are saddened after we heard the news last night [Sunday]. We lost a man who was like a brother and guardian. Dada was a legendary player. We have lost a legend. We have lost a guardian,” said Mamunul Islam, the most experienced member of the team, through a video message.

A minute’s silence was observed before Monday's practice session at Aspire Zone in honor of Badal, a lifelong organizer who also served as BFF vice-president for three consecutive terms. 

Mamunul, the former national team captain, and midfielder added, “We prayed for his departed soul. Our prayers are with his family too.”

It was Bangladesh’s second day on the field after landing in Qatar. 

The focus was on fitness and all the players gave a yoyo test during one-and-a-half hour practice session, followed by gym at the famous Aspire Academy.

“It’s a test to see how fit the whole team was. We got beep test previously. It’s just a bit more reliable. Looking at the data, very happy how the players are at the moment,” said Ivan Razlog, the new team physio.

Assistant coach Masud Parvez Kaiser also reached the Qatari capital and was available to join the team after testing Covid-19 negative upon arrival.