The door to national team opens for Jimmy

The door to the national team had been closed to Russell Mahmud Jimmy on the grounds of age. After two years, that door is set to reopen.

 The new ad hoc committee of the Bangladesh Hockey Federation has decided to call one of the greatest playmakers in the history of Bangladesh hockey to the Asian Games camp. If he can prove his fitness to German coach Peter Gerhard, Jimmy could appear at his fifth Asian Games.

The 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games was Jimmy’s last assignment for the national team. After returning home, he played in the Premier League for Mohammedan. Then, following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024, the interim government formed a search committee that installed a controversial ad hoc committee at the federation. The committee dropped Jimmy and several other experienced players on the grounds of age.

There was widespread discussion and criticism at the time. Jimmy was 37 when he was dropped. However, his age never showed on the field. He was seen performing at his best. Still, the then committee imposed a rule that players over 32 would no longer be called up to the national team. Officials at the time could not provide any logical explanation for the decision. Jimmy was not even called for a fitness test.

The consequences of simultaneously leaving out a group of senior players were evident in various international tournaments over the past two years. Bangladesh failed to reach the final of the AHF Cup, a tournament the country had won four consecutive times. As a result, Bangladesh missed the opportunity to play in the Asian Cup for the first time in 40 years. Later, after Pakistan withdrew, Bangladesh got the opportunity to play in the Asian Cup held in India. However, the performance was extremely poor. Not only that, Bangladesh somehow finished fifth in the Asian Games qualifying tournament for the Asian Games to be held in Aichi Nagoya, Japan, in September and October. Bangladesh had regularly been champions or runners up in this qualifying tournament.

Despite one international tournament failure after another, the previous committee did not consider an experienced player like Jimmy. Recently, the National Sports Council announced a new ad hoc committee with Ishtiaqu Sadeque as general secretary. After taking charge, the committee decided to appoint foreign coaches for the men’s and women’s national teams and age group teams. At the same time, it took the initiative to bring back players who had been deprived of opportunities over the past two years on the grounds of age. As a result, the door to the national team is set to reopen for Jimmy.

Federation Joint Secretary Ariful Haque Prince confirmed that Jimmy and five other experienced players will be called up. An official announcement is expected at the selection committee meeting this afternoon. Peter Gerhard will begin the process of selecting the Asian Games squad tomorrow.

The news seems to have lifted a weight off Jimmy’s shoulders. Even after the door to the national team was closed, he never left the field for a moment. Using the facilities available through the Bangladesh Navy, he tried to keep himself fit. He is now 39 years old.

 However, he remains eager to prove himself as before, Jimmy told Agamir Somoy: “I am about to end a long period of waiting. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the current State Minister for Sports, Aminul Haque, for honoring me by making me a member of the ad hoc committee. Then I would like to thank the committee’s General Secretary Ishtiaqu Sadeque and the others for giving me an opportunity. I still do not know whether I will be able to wear the national team jersey again. Because a foreign coach is coming, and if I can prove myself to him, perhaps the dream will come true. All I can say is that I will make my utmost effort to prove myself.”

Although the previous committee dropped him, it never questioned his performance. Jimmy considers this a major achievement:

“In the last Asian Games, I got the opportunity to play regularly after proving my fitness to the Korean coach. Then many things happened in my life. I was dropped from the national team on the grounds of age. If I had been dropped because of my form, I would not have been hurt and would have accepted it. But it was difficult to accept being dropped because of my age. Even then, I did not oppose it. Rather, those who love me and know me spoke about it and criticized the federation. That is also an achievement for me in the end.”

Since making his debut in 2003, Jimmy has played 194 international matches during his long career through 2023. He dreams of reaching the milestone of 200 international matches at the upcoming Asian Games. If he can make the most of this opportunity to return and pass Gerhard’s test, that dream may also come true for Jimmy.