‘A month-long training can’t produce results’: Bangladesh volleyball captain Horosit

Bangladesh volleyball team finished fourth in the just-concluded six-team CAVA Cup in Mirpur, despite early wins. In an interview with The Daily Star'sAnisur Rahman, captain Horosit Biswas cited the squad's inexperience, lack of practice matches among the key factors, and he also discussed the team's prospects at next year's South Asian Games and more. The excerpts of the interview are as follows:

The Daily Star (DS): How do you assess Bangladesh's performance in the CAVA Cup despite setting a target to be champions?

Horosit Biswas (HB): We had good performances in the first three matches against Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, but a close 3-2 defeat to Turkmenistan in the fourth match let everyone down morally, and we could not recover from it, which is really disappointing for us. There was a gulf of difference in our performance compared to the first three matches and the last three matches. There will be ups and downs in performance, but it seemed to me that our team went down before suffering defeat, which also hindered maintaining the momentum of the game. We never thought of putting up a poor performance against Afghanistan after losing to Turkmenistan in the fifth and final set the previous day.

DS: What factors contributed to the team's inconsistent performance?

HB: The current squad consists mostly of young players who played in the Asian Men's U-20 Volleyball Championship in 2022, with only two to three senior players, including me. We also took part in an international tournament after a two-year gap, so there was a major shortcoming in not playing practice matches before the start of the tournament. The young players also lack experience, match temperament, and maturity, so we could not perform the way we have trained. Besides, it was also a bit hard to perform against all opponents, who were of equal strength.

DS: Having emerged champions and runners-up in the Asian Senior Men's Central Zone International Volleyball Championship since 2015, what does this fourth-place finish indicate?

HB: We are still a good side. A team can perform badly in a single tournament, but it doesn't mean we are stuck at a point. The main point is that we have to continue training for a long time because a team cannot produce good results on the back of only a month of training. Under the foreign coach, our players became ready to play the international tournament on the back of one month of preparation, but it needs at least four months of preparation to compete internationally. We had previously been given opportunities to practice and play warm-up matches in Iran, but this time we could not get such facilities.

DS: Where does Bangladesh stand in the subcontinent ahead of next year's SA Games?

HB: Our main target is to play the semifinals of the SA Games, and India or Sri Lanka may be the probable opponents. After this tournament, we got ideas about Nepal, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, and we can beat them again. However, India is now a strong side, but I think we will be able to fight well against Pakistan, subject to good preparation and practice matches ahead of the SA Games.

DS: How would you evaluate the impact of new coach Ryan Masajedi compared with former coach Ali Pour Aroji?

HB: Both coaches are good. Ali Pour usually worked on technical aspects, changing the players and other things during the games to gain advantages. Even his decisions during the game were decisive. The new coach is now working a lot on our weaker points: defence, service, and receives. It is not possible to bring overall changes in a month, but Masajedi promised to bring Bangladesh to a higher standard if he is given sufficient time.

DS: What is the team's next action plan leading up to the SA Games and beyond?

HB: We will now focus fully on the South Asian Games and start preparation because only two months are left before they begin. During this period, it would be a big opportunity for us if we are given the chance to train in Japan for one month. Then we can more easily achieve our SA Games target of winning the silver medal, because Japan is now a major power in Asian volleyball. We need to nurture this group of young players to make quick decisions during matches, which can only grow through playing a lot of international games. Overseas training will also help us for next year's Asian Volleyball Championship, in which we participated in 2023 after a 30-year gap.