Booters off to Bishkek

Coach Abu Yusuf (second from left) and the national footballers wait at the departure lounge of Zia International Airport yesterday for their trip to Kyrgyzstan for the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers.Photo: STAR

The national football team left Dhaka for Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek yesterday morning to take part in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers.
The 11th hour withdrawal of Laos means only three teams will compete for one qualification spot for the 8-team finals to be held in south Indian city Hyderabad from July 10-August 10.
There is no change in the kick-off date and Bangladesh play their South Asian opponents Afghanistan in the opening match on May 5 at the Bishkek Central Stadium.
Hosts Kyrgyzstan, who recently lost to Oman 2-0 in a friendly international, will lock horns against Afghanistan two days later and meet Bangladesh in the final group game on May 9.
This is the first time the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has taken the decision to send the coach as the leader of the squad as national coach Abu Yusuf was named manager. The 21-member side also includes assistant coach Golam Rabbani Chhoton and a physician.
Hassan Al Mamun will captain the side, which flew by a Gulf Air flight and will have stopovers at Bahrain and Istanbul on way to the central Asian nation, where they were scheduled to land early morning today.
Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan coach Nematjan Zakirov announced a 23-member squad for the Challenge Cup qualifiers.
Zakirov, whose side blanked Bangladesh 3-0 in their only previous meet in the Nehru Cup in India last year, was satisfied with his team's show against Oman despite a defeat.
"The team have performed well and I would like them to continue their good show in the qualifiers," he told the the-afc.com.
The list includes 11 players from Kyrgyz Cup holders Abdysh-Ata while 10 players found their way into the team from league champions and AFC President's Cup winners Dordoi-Dynamo.
SQUADS
BANGLADESH: Goalkeepers: Aminul Haq, Biplab Bhattacharya; defenders: Hassan Al Mamun (captain), Ariful Islam, Wali Faisal, Rajani Kanta Barman, Atiqur Rahman Mishu, Mofazzel Hossain Saikat, Arup Kumar Baidya; midfielders: Arman Aziz, Enamul Haq Sharif, Zahed Parvez, Faisal Mahmud, Maruf Ahmed, Mamunul Islam Mamun; forwards: Mehdi Hasan Ujjal, Mohammad Robin and Zahid Hasan Emily.
KYRGYZSTAN: Goalkeepers: Maksim Agapov, Vladislav Volkov; defenders: Viacheslav Amin, Davron Askarov, Sergey Knyazev, Igor Kudrenko, Bakytbek Mamatov, Artem Muladjanov, Talant Samsaliev, Ruslan Sydykov, Timur Valiev; midfielders: Roman Ablakimov, Valery Berezovsky, Aibek Bokoev, Ruslan Djamshidov, Cholponbek Esenkul Uulu, Sergey Kaleutin, Pavel Sidorenko, Rustamjan Zakirov; forwards: Ildar Amirov, Roman Kornilov, Hurshid Lutfullaev, Almazbek Mirzaliev.