SPORTS REPORTER

Bangladesh national hockey team feel the pressure of maintaining their streak in the AHF Cup as the winners of the last four editions are set to attempt a fifth straight triumph later this month.

The men in red and green clinched the AHF Cup title in the last four editions in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2022 respectively and will start another campaign in the 10-team event from April 17 to 27 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In the tournament, which will serve as the qualification tournament for the Asia Cup, Bangladesh are pitted against hosts Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Kazakhstan in Pool B.

“The only pressure is maintaining the standard we have set in the previous editions as we have won the tournament four times in a row. But we are hopeful about defending the title and qualifying for the Asia Cup as one of two sides,” head coach Mamun Ur Rashid told The Daily Star yesterday.

The head coach has selected an 18-member squad for the event, picking new faces like Obaidul Hossain Joy and Abed Uddin.

“All 18 players were picked on the basis of their performances during the training camp,” Mamun said, adding that he gradually trimmed the squad from 63 to 18 after evaluating their fitness, performance and a few other factors.

“I am hopeful about defending the title after the way the players trained in the camp. However, it would have been better if we could have played a few practice matches before the tournament but the federation could not arrange it due to financial constraints,” said Mamun, adding that they are a bit wary of teams like Indonesia and Thailand, who prepared for the event in Malaysia, and Oman who trained in Pakistan.