Bangabandhu Men’s Junior (U-21) Asia Cup postponed again

CNI Desk: Bangabandhu Al-Arafah Islami Bank Men’s Junior (U-21) Asia Cup, which is scheduled to be held from January 21 to 31 at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka, is to be postponed until May or June.

BHF acting general secretary Mohammed Yousuf told The Daily Sun that the federation agreed with the decision of postponement taken by Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) on Wednesday.

“We are concerned about the second wave of COVID-19 likely to hit here in winter. So, we have been talking with AHF and the sports ministry for a few days on this issue. All sides agreed to postpone the competition. AHF took the final decision of postponement today (Wednesday). We've proposed to arrange the event in May or June,” Yousuf said.

 

The junior Asia Cup, one of the two major arrangements of BHF for Mujib Borsho, was scheduled to be held June 4-12 this year. But Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) postponed the meet last March due to a pandemic outbreak worldwide.

A total of ten teams including hosts Bangladesh, China, Chinese Taipei, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan will take part in the meet, which is also the qualifiers for the junior world cup.

However, BHF earlier initially picked up a 36-member U-21 Squad and started the residential camp, under coach ANM Mamun ur Rashid, from October 10. Yousuf  added that the federation also decided to suspend the camp. 

“We will suspend the camp after a few days and will start the camp for the national team. Besides, we’re planning to hold leagues. We will hold an executive committee meeting on November 2 to confirm the schedules and venues for camp and leagues,” the BHF acting general secretary added. 

Meanwhile, BHF will also arrange Asian Champions Trophy from March 11 to 19 next year here to celebrate Mujib Borsho.