National hockey camp starts Saturday

The non-residential training camp of the preliminary Bangladesh hockey team ahead of the Asian Games qualifiers is all set to start at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka Saturday. Earlier, a total of 38 players, including four freshers were called up for the preliminary squad with experienced coach Mahbub Harun given the responsibility of the team. Harun said the players of different services teams have been in constant action but the primary stage of the camp would focus on the physical fitness of the players. Harun said, "There will be one training session a day during the non-residential camp. The residential camp will start after 15 days. There is room for improvement in some areas. We would work on those areas after playing poorly in the Asia Cup."

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Also read: 38-man preliminary Bangladesh hockey squad announced

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The Asian Games 2018 is scheduled to be held in Indonesia in August/September while the men's field hockey qualifiers for Asia's biggest regional Games will be held in Oman's capital Muscat from March 2-10. The team are targeting to finish top in the qualifiers. Meanwhile, the National Sports Council Thursday announced an ad-hoc committee for the Bangladesh Hockey Federation, keeping Abdus Sadek as the general secretary. Sadek pledged to hold more domestic tournaments, along with an international event, but also admitted that his first task would be to form a league committee within 10 days and announce a date for the transfer window. The former national star is determined to begin the league in eight-10 days after the Asian Games qualifiers. Amid interest from three Dhaka-based clubs to participate in the premier division hockey league directly, Sadek said, "Sheikh Jamal, Sheikh Russel and Saif Sporting also want to come to hockey. The federation offered them to start with the second division but they didn't agree. Rather, they wanted to play directly in the premier division. We will also discuss the issue as well if they can be included."