Acme Chattogram win as Bangladesh hockey begins historic journey

The long wait is over as the players finally returned to action as the inaugural Hockey Champions Trophy (HCT), a franchise-based hockey league, commenced at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday.

Acme Chattogram got off to a winning start with a 3-2 win over Saif Power Group Khulna, courtesy of a brace from Devindar Walmiki of India and a goal from Florian Elvis Sperling of Germany.

The opening match appeared to lack life, perhaps because of less than 10 days' preparation of the tournament -- held 11 months after the completion of the Dhaka Premier Division Hockey League last year.

Despite having an almost equal-strength squad, decked up through the players' draft, Chattogram looked better on the turf than Khulna, possibly due to the presence of an experienced advisory coach in Mahbub Harun, who knows the local players well and prepared the boys before Pakistani head coach Waseem Ahmed took charge a couple of days back.

During the game, Chattogram threatened Khulna from the beginning to avail two penalty corners but failed to capitalise. Khulna then gradually grew in confidence and came close to taking the lead in the 23rd minute but Austrian Mortiz Frey narrowly missed the target from close range.

Right after, Chattogram were awarded a penalty stroke when goalkeeper Biplob Kujur brought down Ashraful Alam inside the circle but Walmiki failed to convert as his shot had hit the post.

Walmiki, however, made amends in the next minute to hand Chattogram a lead as he converted from a penalty corner. The lead lasted only eight minutes with Tanzim Ahmed levelling the margin from a penalty corner in the 34th minute.

Four minutes later, Walmiki struck from a penalty corner again to restore the lead before Sperling made it 3-1 in the 53rd minute by scoring from close range.

Khulna hit back with Khorshedur Rahman reducing the margin for the southerners with a drag-flick goal in the penultimate minute but could not avoid the defeat eventually.

Before the start of the match, the whole stadium was virtually kept in the dark in a bid to save electricity until a five-minute brief began. Later, an eye-catching opening ceremony took place on the blue turf, with a few artists -- dressed up as characters from James Cameron's film Avatar -- performed to entertain around two thousand spectators.

And soon after, the floodlight lit up as players from Chattogram and Khulna arrived to warm up, while the Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) president and Air Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan declared the six-team league open following his speech.

"It has been a special day for Bangladesh hockey as Bangladesh holds the franchise-based hockey league for the first time in its history. I am hoping the country's hockey will reach a strong position through the introduction of the franchise hockey league," Hannan said.

"The local players are getting an opportunity to play with the foreign players, so they will learn the technical things and be morally strong apart from getting financial benefits.

Having thanked the participating teams, corporate houses, organisers, and others related to the HCT, the BHF president also mentioned the experience of playing in this tournament will improve the national team.

"Bangladesh were in 42nd position in world hockey rankings earlier this year but improved to 27th position within six months. So, I hope the experience of playing the franchise hockey league will help the players to improve the national hockey team in future," Hannan concluded.