Published: 10:16 AM, 16 August 2026
Giles Bonnet happy of team's overall progress
Bangladesh Hockey Federation General Secretary Ishtiaq Sadeq has stood by the players of the U-20 National Hockey Team's residential camp at theBangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP). -BHF
Despite a defeat to Bangladesh senior national hockey team in the practice match, U-20 hockey team head coach Giles Bonnet is found happy with his team's overall progress and structure.
The Under-20 hockey team went down a 4-3 goal defeat to senior national hockey team in the fourth practice match held at the Maulana Bhashani Hockey Stadium.
Bonnet said the players are understanding their roles and their counter-attacking play was effective. According to the team's data, the U-20 side made more circle entries than the senior team, while both sides had an equal number of shots on goal.
However, Bonnet said the team needed to convert more of those opportunities.
He identified penalty corners and finishing inside the circle as key areas for improvement, while also calling for quick corrections to basic errors, turnovers and allowing opponents shooting opportunities from the top of the circle.
"The present structure of the team gives us confidence. We are on the right track and the team is showing a competitive mentality. But we still have a lot of work to do to reach our desired target," Bonnet said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Hockey Federation General Secretary Ishtiaq Sadeq has stood by the players of the U-20 National Hockey Team's residential camp at theBangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP). He has sent various types of high-quality nutritious food items on his own initiative to ensure balanced nutrition and relieve fatigue of the players of the women's and men's teams who are busy practicing intensively in the camp.
This conditioning and skill residential camp of the U-20 Hockey Team is currently being conducted at BKSP in preparation for the upcoming Junior Asia Cup. The General Secretary personally sent these gifts to the young players staying in this long-term camp to maintain their fitness and provide additional motivation for their practice.
The food items sent include balanced food suitable for international-level players. Notable among them are Kellogg's Cornflakes, Quaker Whole Oats, Premium Mariam Dates, various types of mixed nuts as energy boosters and nutritious chocolate bars like KitKat, Snickers and Mars to relieve the players' fatigue.
Regarding this exceptional initiative, General Secretary Ishtiaq Sadek said, "These young and talented players of the U-20 team are the future of hockey in our country. I applaud their hard work and concentration in this scorching heat at the BKSP camp. I consider it my responsibility to personally be by their side and keep them mentally strong beyond the regular facilities of the federation. Hopefully, these nutritious foods will help them maintain their fitness and focus more on their practice.
"The players and coaching staff present at the camp expressed deep gratitude for this sincere and timely initiative of the General Secretary. They said that such direct support, love and nutritional assistance from the federation's top officials will greatly motivate them to further improve their on-field performance and prepare for the upcoming tournament.
