Home ›› 07 May 2023 ›› Sport
Bangladesh National Men’s Football Team will not travel to China for the upcoming edition of the Asian Games, which will be played in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8.
However, the Women’s Team will be part of the Bangladesh envoy in the games, which will include athletes for 18 events.
The decision was made following a meeting of the Bangladesh Olympic Association on Saturday.
“The men’s (football) team will not travel with the Asian Games envoy; the decision has been made. This is the primary decision,” BOA treasurer A K Sarker told The Business Post.
However, he refused to elaborate on the decision, “Ask the two members of the Bangladesh Football Federation why they are not being sent to the Games. They were there.” The two members of the BFF present in the meeting were vice-presidents Kazi Nabil Ahmed and Mohiuddin Ahmed Mohi.
Mohi told The Business Post they were trying to reverse the situation.
“This is the decision of the Executive Committee of BOA. We are trying to revise the situation. We will talk to the officials at BOA,” he said.
The vice-president added that the reason was not financial, but rather sporting.
“The girls are performing well, which is why the Executive Committee decided to send them. The situation is that everything has been considered, like who is performing better and who has the better track record.
“There is no financial reason behind it. If there was a financial reason, then we would have said that it’s not possible to send the women’s team too. For now, I think it is not finalised,” he said.
Bangladesh had a good outing in the football event of the last Asian Games, in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018. They lost their opening game to Uzbekistan 3-0, then drew against Thailand 1-1, where Mahbubur Rahman Sufil scored a goal. In the final group game, skipper Jamal Bhuyan’s goal against Qatar saw Bangladesh win 1-0 and qualify for the second round of the tournament. They then lost that knockout game 3-1 to North Korea to see themselves eliminated.
The men’s team not participating in this year’s event would see a reversal of the last event as the women’s team did not participate there but Jamal and co did.
A total of 117 athletes participated for Bangladesh in the last Asian Games in 16 events, meaning there will be more participants this time around.
However, the last Asian Games saw Bangladesh fail to achieve any medals. In the Incheon Games in 2014, they acquired three- two bronzes and a silver.
Bangladesh have to date won 12 medals in the Asian Games- one gold, five silvers, and six bronzes. The only gold medal came in 2010, courtesy of the men’s cricket team.
