Pushkhor Khisha Mimo, a forward of the Bangladesh national hockey team, firmly believes that indigenous players can enrich local hockey teams if they are provided with well-equipped training facilities. The ace forward was speaking about Bangladesh Hockey Federation’s tribal hockey tournament, to start from May 22 at Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium. The turbulent weather left the hockey federation with no option but to move the meet to Dhaka from Rangamati. Mimo had his own thoughts about the indigenous players. “I believe that they can take on a greater workload as they are naturally strong. They can also adapt to conditions more easily and are mentally resilient,” said the forward. However, Mimo admitted that the tribal players are not as skilled as other players, as they hardly participate in any competitive fixtures from an early age. “The hockey federation should arrange more workshops and small scale tournaments to accommodate budding indigenous players. There’s a decent number of them. If the federation encourages them, there will be an immediate response,” said Mimo. At yesterday’s press conference at the hockey stadium, Khwaja Rahmatullah, the general secretary of the federation, hoped their efforts would bear fruit. “There are a number of talented players and we hope to pick them up for advanced training,” said Rahmatullah. F.M. Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn, the senior deputy director of Walton, affirmed his company’s role in the development of hockey. “Walton has stepped forward to assist hockey and believes it has a great future,” said Dawn. The champions and runner-up teams of the meet will receive Tk20,000 and Tk15,000 respectively. Walton, which has provided a purse of Tk400,000 as the sponsors, will also present an LCD TV to the champions and an Android phone to the best player. The meet concludes on May 28.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
