SPORTS REPORTER

Bangladesh women’s hockey team have been placed alongside strong sides Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and Uzbekistan in Pool A of the upcoming Women’s Asian Games Qualifiers, scheduled to be held from April 23 to 29 in Jakarta, Indonesia, as the Asian Hockey Federation disclosed the schedule yesterday.

Pool B consists of Singapore, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and hosts Indonesia, with the four semifinalists set to qualify for September’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan.

Although the senior women’s team have yet to feature in this or any international tournament in their brief journey, Bangladesh’s U-21 and U-18 sides produced impressive results last year. The U-21 team finished runners-up in the Junior (U-21) AHF Cup in Singapore, while the U-18 side clinched bronze at the Women’s U-18 Asia Cup in China.

The senior squad is largely made up of those players, with the majority coming from BKSP, where they have trained together year-round over the past three-and-a-half years.

Preparations for the qualifiers began on February 1 with a 36-member training camp, including 12 players from outside BKSP.

With hopes of reaching the Asian Games, the Bangladesh squad is scheduled to leave for Jakarta on April 19.

“Our target is to qualify for the Asian Games by reaching the semifinals, though it will be a tough task,” women’s team coach Zahid Hossain Raju told The Daily Star yesterday.

“Chinese Taipei are a very strong team, having played hockey for the last 20 years, and their U-21 side also became champions in the Junior AHF Cup. Hong Kong and Uzbekistan are also good opponents, but we have a good opportunity to reach the semifinals if the girls can deliver their natural performance,” added the BKSP head coach.