The national women’s squad has had a tumultuous year so far, and the defending SAFF champions may not have their newly hired head coach, Saiful Bari Titu, with them in China for the next Asian Games.
The Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) sent a revised list of authorities about the ladies in red and green five days ago, but has yet to hear back from the Hangzhou Asian Games organizing committee.
The inaugural roster had five people: former head coach Golam Rabbani Choton, technical director Paul Smalley, players Mahabubur Rahman Litu, Onnona, and Trishna Chakma, and assistant coach Paul Smalley. The BOA, for its part, finished all of its certification paperwork before the May 30 deadline.
However, the issue surfaced about a month and a half after Choton’s departure, on July 14, when Smalley announced his resignation. Since Litu is slated to lead the junior squad in the AFC U-17 Women’s Championship in the same month as the women’s Asian Games debut, there is currently no contender to lead the team.
Titu was named head coach of the women’s squad by the local governing body on July 19, and the BOA was asked to add Mirona Akter as assistant coach and a physiotherapist for the team. The BOA has been unsuccessful in convincing the organizing committee to resend ballots with the names of the new officers, as verified by AK Sarker, the BOA’s treasurer.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a second BOA official stated, “We originally spoke to the necessary authorities charged with amending the identities of officials of Bangladesh’s women’s squad. However, they did not comply, citing regulations that said only players or officials may be selected from the first list. But we sent them letters asking for new officials and haven’t heard back from them yet.
If the Asian Games organizing body does not approve of the adjustments, the BFF will have to send Litu with the senior team and assign another coach to the U-17s.
The BOA, however, got its athletes’ final submissions in before the July 15 deadline. The multi-sport event will take place in China from September 23 to October 8, and 182 people, including 77 women, will compete on behalf of Bangladesh.