BD begin preparations

With about seven weeks left till the Asian Games, the national hockey team began their preparations for the tournament at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday.

All the players, bar veteran Kamruzzaman Rana and goalkeeper Zahid Hossain, reported to coach Iman Gopinath Krishnamurti, who selected the 41-member preliminary squad which includes some fresh blood such as Prince Lal Samondo, Rakibul Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Abed Uddin and Hridoy.

The troupe had a light stretching session and played football on the first day of training, which will get underway in full-swing today and continue till June 13, after which the team will have a seven-day Eid vacation. The preparation camp will resume on June 21 and continue until June 27.

Bangladesh will then play 18 warm-up matches in India, China and South Korea as a part of their preparations for the Asian Games, scheduled for August 18 to September 2.

However, Rezaul Karim Babu will likely miss the preparation camp as he fractured his small toe during a motorcycle accident yesterday.