Abahani play Police today in opener

The Khawja Rahmatullah Club Cup Hockey Tournament under the auspices of Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) begins at Maulana Bhashani National Stadium in the city today (Monday), reports UNB.

Abahani Limited will play Bangladesh Police in the inaugural match of the tournament at 5:00 pm.

Out of 13 metropolis premier division clubs, only six teams, excluding Usha KC and Dhaka Mohammedan SC, split into two groups are taking part in the eight-day competition, an optional hockey meet for the metropolis clubs.

The participating teams are: Group A - Abahani Limited, Sonai Bank and Bangladesh Police; Group B -Dhaka Mariner Youngs Club, Ajax SC and Victoria SC.

BHF General Secretary Abdus Sadeque disclosed the details of the meet at a press conference at the federation office on Sunday.

He informed the pressmen that as per the decision of the federation's executive committee, the club cup hockey tournament will now be named after Khawaj Rahmatullah and the VIP gallery of the hockey stadium will also be named after him.

Khawja Rahmatullah died on October 24 last year.

All the six participating teams will receive appearance money of Tk 20,000 while the champions and runners-up teams will be awarded with trophies while the highest scorer of the tournament will get Tk 10,000.