Bangladesh U-21 hockey team arrives in Chennai without head coach and manager

Bangla Press Desk:   The Bangladesh Under 21 hockey team arrived in India on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the Under 21 Hockey World Cup, scheduled to begin on 28 November in Chennai–Madurai. This is Bangladesh’s first-ever appearance in any hockey World Cup. The team travelled on a US-Bangla Airlines flight, one of the major sponsors of the squad.

The contingent reached Chennai safely at around 3pm Bangladesh time. However, three key members — head coach Siegfried Aikman, Federation's General Secretary and team manager Lt. Col. Riazul Hasan (Retd.), and forward Mehedi Hasan — were unable to travel with the team due to separate circumstances.

Bangladesh Hockey Federation’s General Secretary Riazul Hasan, who has been appointed as the World Cup team manager, explained, “During the Pakistan series, Aikman’s mother passed away. He is flying to the Netherlands today for family reasons and will join the team on 24 November. I still haven’t received my visa. Meanwhile, player Mehedi Hasan is suffering from dengue and cannot travel.”

The squad reached India ten days before the tournament to adapt to conditions and continue their preparations. They are scheduled to play two practice matches against Chile and Switzerland. However, with the head coach absent for the next few days and one player ruled out, certain parts of the preparation plan have been disrupted.

Despite this, federation officials remain confident. “Due to the ongoing Pakistan series, the coach couldn’t leave earlier. His personal emergency is unavoidable. The coaching staff will continue following his guidelines. Even if I join later, our assistant manager and other officials are experienced. There should be no major difficulty,” said Hasan.

Bangladesh earned qualification for the Under 21 World Cup following months of long-term training. They also played four preparation matches in Malaysia. Plans for a training camp in Switzerland fell through due to visa complications, prompting the federation to send the team early to India for acclimatization and practice.

BP/SP