Sports Desk:

The Bangladesh Under-17 women’s national football team, now in Bhutan ahead of the SAFF U-17 Women’s Championship, are focusing on adjusting to the local weather as they prepare to defend their crown.

The girls in red and green held their first training session on Saturday morning at the Babena Ground in Thimphu.

“As it was the first day of our practice, we struggled a bit. By practicing, we will try to adapt to the weather,” said squad member Umma Kulsum.

Team manager Mahmuda Akhter echoed the sentiment, stressing the importance of acclimatization. “We have come early to adapt with the weather. The weather is sunny mostly, also it rains a lot. Overall, we hope that everyone will do well. As we have come three-four days early, I hope the players will be able to adapt to the weather. Our first match is against Bhutan. All of our matches are very important. I think it is better that we came here early.”

Despite the challenges, the team remain firmly focused on their title defense. “The condition of the team is good. Our target is playing final and becoming the champions,” Kulsum added.

The tournament will be held from 20–31 August at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, featuring four teams – Bangladesh, India, Nepal and hosts Bhutan. Following a double round-robin league format, each team will face the others twice, with the highest-placed side crowned champions.

Bangladesh enter the competition as defending champions, having claimed the title last year with a dramatic victory in the final, decided by a penalty shootout.