Ashiquzzaman eyes Men’s Junior AHF Cup title

Bangladesh junior hockey team are keeping their sights on the title of next month's Men's Junior AHF Cup in Singapore as the players of the preliminary squad today reported to head coach Ashiquzzaman at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium.

The seventh edition of the under-21 level tournament is scheduled to take place in Singapore from May 12, though the number of participating teams has not been confirmed yet. In 2023, Bangladesh clinched the title for the second time.

"Out of 36 players, 33 have reported today while player is sitting for exams and two others are training in services teams. All three are expected to report tomorrow [Tuesday]," Ashiquzzaman, who recently acted as head coach of Usha KC in the Dhaka Premier League, told The Daily Star after briefing the players at the conference room of the stadium.

"As champions of the tournament, we should fight to defend the title even though Oman and Singapore are also title contenders," Ashiquzzaman said. "Bangladesh should have an advantage as the players played the league.

"There are 17 students of BKSP who have been in action. We will conduct two trials to trim the squad to pick at least 25 players for ideal preparation but the number of players will be decided by the selection committee," said The former national midfielder.