U-21s to start fitness training under Air Force
With the Bangladesh national football team's training camp under threat after so many footballers tested positive for Covid-19, a group of the U-21 hockey team are set to begin fitness training today after a gap of six months.
Sixteen hockey players took the Covid-19 test on Saturday. Two have tested positive for the virus and will be kept at the Air Force isolation centre in Cantonment. The others are scheduled to start out training at BAF Bangabandhu Base in Dhaka Cantonment.
The fitness training is definitely the first BHF activity because the outbreak of coronavirus in March as the local game's governing body last organised the Shaheed Smriti Hockey tournament in February. Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) president and Air Chief Marshal Masihuzzaman Serniabat inaugurated working out programme at the BAF Falcon Hall in Tejgaon yesterday.
The infection of footballers has delivered a solid message to other sports federations about the necessity to allocate substantial time before resuming activities before any official engagements.
With the Asian Junior (U-21) Cup, that was scheduled to be held in June in Dhaka, postponed indefinitely because of the pandemic, there are no engagements for the U-21s coming.
"Of the 36-member preliminary squad, 18 players from different services teams have been in training [amid the pandemic, as they were inside Cantonment] and their physical condition is also good however the players who aren't in services teams have not experienced good form physically, so our president wished to provide fitness training for all those players," said BHF acting general secretary Mohammad Yousuf. "It really is an isolated conditioning training which is held beneath the supervision of Bangladesh Air Force. Air Force fitness trainers is only going to focus on fitness and then, if needed, our coaches will join the camp."
After being overlooked, U-21 head coach Mamunur Rashid raised questions about the worthiness of conducting fitness training when players have almost no target with out a tournament on the horizon. Mamun trained the U-21 team since June last year and his charges beat Oman 3-1 in a five-match series in Dhaka early this year.
"I understand nothing about the fitness training as the top coach. I believe this fitness programme does not have any value as there is absolutely no target for the players. I think such training will rather push players back," said Mamun, who also wondered why coaches cannot join when players from outside can attend the camp in Cantonment.
"We're able to have sat idle if we wanted amidst the pandemic but didn't. I cannot see any issues with the fitness training under Air Forces trainers. Sports activities are little by little starting in the united states and it is likely to start completely swing within a couple of months. We are conducting this in order that we are able to resume the preparation of the U-21 team early, soon after we get government permission. Besides, we also want to host the Asian Junior (U-21) Championship, which can be the Junior World Cup Qualifiers, in early 2021," said Yousuf.
