A confident Bangladesh U-15 girl’s team is focused to retain the title of the Saff U-15 Women's Championship which will have its second edition kicking-off in Bhutan on Thursday. The holders will take on Pakistan in the second match of the inaugural day at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu.
The Bengal girls enjoyed a warm training session at the match venue for one and half hours on Wednesday morning followed by a second recovery gym session at the team hotel. The girls seemed confident after adjusting with the high altitude and weather conditions of Bhutan.
Pakistan didn't take part in the inaugural edition but Bangladesh’s senior women's team beat them whenever they faced them in recent years, including the SA Games and Saff Championship. However, head Coach Golam Rabbani Choton is not taking the opponents lightly.
“We are ready to fight,” said Choton referring their intense training in the last seven months. He added, “The team is mentally and physically strong enough to play their best and win the game. All participants are strong including Pakistan. We want to win the matches step-by-step, carefully.”
Reliable midfielder and team captain Maria Manda said, “We came here for the championship. We did lots of intense training back home and we have the confidence to beat Pakistan. We’re taking no pressure at all as defending champions.”
As many as 18 players remained in the current squad from the last year's title winning campaign in Dhaka. Bangladesh are likely to keep their starting eleven almost unchanged for the opening game while the new faces will have the chance to prove their worth whenever they come up as substitutes.
