Women's kabaddi team leave for Nepal Saturday

Dhaka, 17 April  - Bangladesh national women's kabaddi team on verge of a historic moment as they will leave here for Nepal Saturday (April 19) to take part in the maiden five-match kabaddi test series against host Nepal scheduled to be held in Kathmandu from April 20-25.

The first match of the Test series will be held on April 20. The remaining four matches will be held on April 21, 22, 24 and 25. The current champion of Bangladesh Premier League Cricket, Fortune Barisal, is the sponsor of the Nepal-bound Bangladesh women's kabaddi team.

In this regards, a press conference was held today (Thursday) at the Bangladesh Olympic Association auditorium to announce the Bangladesh team's squad and their preparations and goals against Nepal.

Fortune Barisal's owner Mizanur Rahman, who was present in the press conference, said that he has a plan to stay with kabaddi Federation for a long time. 

He said: "Kabaddi is the national game of Bangladesh. I am proud to be associated with this sport. I believe Bangladesh will do well and move forward."

Fortune Barisal's owner also expressed his desire to get involve in franchise kabaddi. "If franchise kabaddi starts, it will be good news for kabaddi. Let's start with four teams in the first year, even if there are not many teams. I would say about organizing franchise kabaddi at least a month before the start of BPL," he added.

Kabaddi Federation general secretary SM Newaz Sohag has also expressed his intention to start of franchise kabaddi. 

"Since the owner of Fortune Barisal has come here, we have to assume that this is our advance message. Franchise kabaddi will be held in Bangladesh and efforts are underway to establish a model."

Meanwhile, Bangladesh team coaches Shahnaz Parveen Maleka and team coach Arduzzaman Munshi expressed optimism to win the five-match Test series against Nepal.

Shahnaz Parveen Maleka said, "It's okay that Nepal is a stronger team than us but no one will want to lose. Everyone will aim to win. Our practice has been very good. The new players will gain courage by playing the upcoming series against Nepal which will be very useful for us in the future."
Arduzzaman Munshi was also found confident. "Nepal has practiced for a long time in India but our team is better than before and we are hopeful to win the series against Nepal," he said.

The Bangladesh team has been preparing for the Women's Kabaddi World Cup in India in June. This series against Nepal is being organized as part of the preparation.

In this regard, federation general secretary Sohag said: "Though we lost to Nepal in the SA Games and Asian Games but this series with Nepal will be of useful for us to go forward. After playing five matches, we will be able to know about the team's capability. We will be able to find out where our weaknesses are. We are preparing for the upcoming World Cup."

The Women's Kabaddi World Cup will be held in Rajgir, Bihar, India from June 1-8. Apart from host India, Bangladesh, Iran, Japan, Poland, Kenya, Argentina, Thailand, Nepal, Uganda, Germany, Chinese Taipei, Netherlands and Zanzibar will participate in the World Cup.

Bangladesh kabaddi team: Sraboni Mallick (captain), Brishti Biswas (co-captain), Rupali (senior), Smriti Akhter, Rekha Akhter, Mebi Chakma, Rupali Akhter (junior), Anjuara Ratri, Sucharita Chakma, Khadija Khatun, Loba Akhter, Yasmin Khanam and Israt Jahan Sadika.

Standbies : Lucky Akter and Naborshi Chakma
Coaches: Shahnaz Parveen Maleka and Arduzzaman Munshi
Manager: Mohammad Asaduzzaman.BSS