A press conference was held today at the Bangladesh Olympic Association Auditorium. Photo : BSS

DHAKA, Feb 12, 2025 (BSS) - With an aim of building a new Bangladesh, the festival of youth 2025 is being celebrated across the country with the slogan of 'Let's change the country, change the world'. 

Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation (BKF) also joined this festival by organising 'Youth Kabaddi (under-18 boys' and girls') competition that began on January 20 last.

The Youth Kabaddi (U-18 boys' and girls') competition was held in 61 districts across the country with the participation of 339 upazilas divided into eight zones. 

A total of 529 boys' and girls' teams participated in the nationwide event. A total of 331 teams participated in boys' category and 198 teams in girls' category. After the district and zonal phase competition, the best teams are waiting for the national stage.

The national round will be held from February 15-18 at Paltan ground where the champions and runners-up teams of the boys' and girls' division of Madhumati, Teesta, Dhansiri, Brahmaputra, Rupsa, Surma, Padma and Karnaphuli zones will take part.

The teams made up of the best players nominated from the grassroots will compete in the national stage.

In this regards, a press conference was held today (Wednesday) at the Bangladesh Olympic Association auditorium to provide all the details of the final stage of the meet.

Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation (BKF) vice president Hafizur Rahman Khan, it's general secretary SM Newaz Sohag and Festival of Youth Kabaddi organizing committee head of marketing Wahid Murad were present at the press conference.

BKF general secretary SM Newaz Sohag said: 'The purpose of the youth kabaddi competition was to select players. We got 7,000 players through the hunting process. Fifty boys and equal number of girls will be selected from there. They are our future. They have to be nursing; we have planed to train them under foreign coaches. There is an eight-member selection panel to select the players. If the selection process is not done properly, the target cannot be achieved." 

Besides "We want to bring good quality coaches and trying to get a physio from New Zealand, Australia or Poland," he added'.

The BKF general secretary said that the present committee is working relentlessly to bring back the lost glory of kabaddi by saying that: "Two things are needed for the medal -- money and intensive practice. We want to recover the medals that we have lost in various games. This is the main challenge of our new committee."

Shohag informed that Bangladesh has many tournaments at home and abroad this year. Nepal would come to play five-match test series.

He said effort would also be made to involve Pakistan, Iran and India in the series.