Bansal joins as adviser

Veteran hockey coach Ajay Kumar Bansal will work with the Bangladesh U-21 women’s hockey team for a short period of time to prepare them for the Women’s Junior AHF Cup, to be held in Singapore from September 9 to 15.

The 60-year-old Indian is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on August 15 while his roughly two week stint as an advisory coach with the women’s team will begin on August 18 at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium. Bansal is also expected to work with the national U-21 men’s hockey team, which will take part in the Junior Asia Cup next year.

Bansal was head coach of both the India men’s and women’s hockey teams and also guided different Indian age-group teams at the international level.

“Bansal is a very experienced coach in the sub-continent and we have a good relation with him. Our principal target is to prepare the women’s team for the Women’s Junior AHF Cup and Bansal will prepare the team during his stay. I have roped him in for 15 days but we will be trying to bring him for a long period for the men’s U-21 side,” said Bangladesh Hockey Federation general secretary AKM Mominul Haque Shaheed in a statement yesterday.