There is no shame against losing to a superior team when the performance remains incredible enough to win the hearts of fans and neutrals alike. Bangladesh on Saturday reinforced that notion against Kuwait in the 2023 SAFF Championship semi-finals as Bishwanath Ghosh and teammates operated like warriors on the pitch. In an interview with Anisur Rahman of The Daily Star, the 24-year-old revisited his journey in the latest regional tournament, as a professional footballer and more. The excerpts are as follows:
Before taking to the ground for the warm-up session at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru ahead of the SAFF Championship semifinal against Kuwait, Bangladesh right-back Bishwanath Ghosh announced that he would distribute Tk 5 lakh among his teammates as a bonus if they could make it to the final for the first time in 18 years.
Bangladesh came into the SAFF Championship with little hope of making it to the semifinals, a stage they had failed to reach over the past five editions of the regional football extravaganza, and their poor performances in some recent friendlies cast further doubt on their ability to make it out of the group stage.
Bangladesh national football team coach Javier Cabrera asserted that his team deserved to win against a much stronger Kuwait in their semifinal clash in the ongoing SAFF Championships 2023 at the Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium on Saturday.
Bangladesh have already achieved their SAFF Championship objective -- reaching the semifinal this edition. But following inspirational performances in the final two group games, against Maldives and Bhutan, Jamal Bhuiyan and Co. are now aiming to go even further as they take on Kuwait, arguably the toughest team in the tournament, in Saturday’s first semifinal at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
There is no shame against losing to a superior team when the performance remains incredible enough to win the hearts of fans and neutrals alike. Bangladesh on Saturday reinforced that notion against Kuwait in the 2023 SAFF Championship semi-finals as Bishwanath Ghosh and teammates operated like warriors on the pitch. In an interview with Anisur Rahman of The Daily Star, the 24-year-old revisited his journey in the latest regional tournament, as a professional footballer and more. The excerpts are as follows:
Before taking to the ground for the warm-up session at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru ahead of the SAFF Championship semifinal against Kuwait, Bangladesh right-back Bishwanath Ghosh announced that he would distribute Tk 5 lakh among his teammates as a bonus if they could make it to the final for the first time in 18 years.
Bangladesh came into the SAFF Championship with little hope of making it to the semifinals, a stage they had failed to reach over the past five editions of the regional football extravaganza, and their poor performances in some recent friendlies cast further doubt on their ability to make it out of the group stage.
Bangladesh national football team coach Javier Cabrera asserted that his team deserved to win against a much stronger Kuwait in their semifinal clash in the ongoing SAFF Championships 2023 at the Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium on Saturday.
Bangladesh have already achieved their SAFF Championship objective -- reaching the semifinal this edition. But following inspirational performances in the final two group games, against Maldives and Bhutan, Jamal Bhuiyan and Co. are now aiming to go even further as they take on Kuwait, arguably the toughest team in the tournament, in Saturday’s first semifinal at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.