Merdeka an inspiration

Bangladesh will face hosts Myanmar for the second time in as many months when the two sides lock horn in the opening match of the 3rd Grand Royal Challenge Cup football tournament in Yangoon on November 11.
The other team in the group are Indonesia who face Bangladesh on November 13.
Group B features Vietnam, Malaysia and South Korean professional club Hyundai FC.
Bangladesh coach Shafiqul Islam Manik, who returned home with the team on Tuesday after their campaign in the Merdeka Cup, believes that the good show in Malaysia will help them build a stringer national team.
Bangladesh lost 1-0 to both Mozambique Under-20s and Myanmar national team before holding Vietnam's Olympic squad 2-2.
"The result may not tell all things but I am happy because I got what I wanted off the players. We did not have high hopes but they fulfilled my desires," told Manik yesterday after his first assignment as national coach.
"The footballers were totally committed and did their best. We could not do better than this with the team we have and the amount of training we could give them. It was one step forward and we can go four more steps ahead if we stick to the task," said the former national footballer.
Team leader and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) vice-president Badal Roy opined that lack of experience cost the team certain victories in the Merdeka Cup.
"If we had a tougher domestic competition, the players would have been more accustomed to pressure. We created many chances but the strikers missed them as they are not used to very tough situations.
"Emily was outstanding in the whole tournament but he has to learn when to shoot or release the ball. We did not have results but I would say it was a good tournament for us.
"Even Nepal have two players who can turn a match but we don't. We don't have any player like Arman Mia and we must work hard to fill in the void.
"We have also learned many things. Every team went with a coaching staff of four to five. We have to stop sending officials and take more coaching staff," added the ex-national captain.