& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Asian meet coming here?

SPORTS REPORTER
Hockey
Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) might be given the opportunity to host the Asian Zone qualifier of the World Youth Championship if India refuses to play in Pakistan next year.
The BHF is optimistic about holding the under-21 competition because of the stubborn stand of the Indian government which is maintaining a hard-line of not sending any of its teams to Pakistan.
India however would not mind playing their bitter neighbours at a neutral venue. Recently the Indian national hockey team played Pakistan in a triangular invitational tournament in Australia.
The World Youth qualifiers are scheduled to be held in Pakistan in March, 2004 with 12 regional
teams to be taking part.
With India remaining unmoved, the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) is contemplating an alternative venue. It was learnt that the AHF was not interested to hold the tournament without India's participation.
In that event Bangladesh may become the second choice.
"We have got green signals from the AHF for staging the tournament if the event finally does not take place in Pakistan," Shamsul Bari, the BHF general secretary, told The Daily Star Sport yesterday. He also said that the BHF also got positive response from the sports ministry to hold the tournament.
"We are ready to host the tournament but everything depends on India's decision," he said.
But the only cause for concern for Bari at the moment is the palpable condition of the synthetic turf of the Maulana Bhasani National
Hockey Stadium.
"The turf is totally unfit for international matches. So we must change the turf if we are to host the tournament at the premier venue of the country. Otherwise, BKSP will be the other choice," said the long-serving BHF general secretary.
But Bari doesn't want the event to go to BKSP, the country's lone sports institute, in Savar.
"The turf at the BKSP is good but other facilities are not up to the mark," observed Bari.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Youth and Sports Fazlur Rahman recently assured the BHF that he would provide with the financial support to lay a new turf at the Maulana Bhasani Stadium.
It was learnt that installation of a new turf would cost an amount in excess of four crore taka.
"We will be able to hold the tournament at the venue if the ministry takes the initiative from October," Bari said.