Bangladesh national hockey team is planning to play practice matches with either India or Singapore at home in preparation for the upcoming Asia Cup Hockey, which is scheduled to be held in next month in Malaysia.
Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) has invited Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) to play friendly matches, though they have yet to receive a reply. The decision will be finalised in two or three days and if India turn down the offer, Singapore might come instead and play four practice matches.
“We are trying to bring in India for practice matches. We sent them invitation letters and as soon as we get their reply we will finalise the friendly fixtures,” said BHF general secretary Khwaja Rahmatullah yesterday.
Sources said that The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India, who earlier agreed to play three practice matches with Bangladesh as a part of the preparation, are expected to arrive Dhaka on July 27 and will play three matches on July 29, 30 and August 1.
Belgian coach Mike Keenan of the International Hockey Federation elite-panel coach, will visit Bangladesh again on July 31 and stay until August 7. Keenan came to the city earlier this year as an advisory coach to the Bangladesh national team.
Along with guiding the national team, Keenan will also look after the U-18 and U-21 hockey teams.
The FIH (Federation de International Hockey) president Leandro Negro, who also visited Bangladesh accompanied by Keenan in February, provided Tk1m for the hockey federation and agreed to allot $175,000 to BHF for a planned hockey astro turf in the country. However, the federation has to manage $75,000 more from the government to finalize Negro’s offer.
BHF also requested world hockey’s governing body FIH yesterday for scholarships for 20 junior hockey players from the hockey academy to train abroad.
Meanwhile, national hockey players got hold of the youth and sport minister Ahad Ali Sarkar once again to solve their current crisis regarding players’ transfer. The minister pledged to discuss and sit with the premier league clubs and assured the players to come to resolve the situation by August 2.
