DHAKA – The youth hockey team will start their preparation camp from October 16 at the Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium ahead of the Bangabandhu U-21 men’s Junior Asia Cup Hockey.
Talking to BSS today, Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) acting general secretary Mohammad Yousuf said they would call the earlier selected thirty six hockey players on October 10 for reporting at the camp venue where all the players would go through a COVID-19 test which will be held till October 15. After completing the testing formalities, the player would start the camp from October 16.
He said the players’ will be accommodated at Bangladesh Air Force’s Bangabandhu Base at the Dhaka Cantonment from where they players would come to practice at hockey stadium. The BHF would decide the practice schedule at a later stage.
Yousuf said they would arrange an isolation center at Shaheen School if any player tested for COVID-19 positive during the test.
Replying to a question the BHF acting general secretary informed the federation yet to take any decision regarding the senior hockey team’s camp.
Earlier, the BHF fixed a tentative date of October 1 for youth hockey team’s preparation camp.
The BHF will host the Bangabandhu Men’s Junior Asia Cup Hockey scheduled to be held on 21-30 January next at Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium.
The ten countries are Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, India, Oman, Japan, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Pakistan and host Bangladesh.
Among the ten countries top six teams – Bangladesh, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea and Malaysia — of last tournament will directly play this year’s tournament while remaining four teams — China, Chinese Taipei , Oman and Uzbekistan – have come after participating in the selection round held in Oman last year.
The top three countries of the Junior Asia Cup will qualify for the next edition of Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup.
The tournament was scheduled on June 4-14 this year but the tournament was postponed and shifted to January next due to COVID-19 pandemic.BSS
