Ashish Bhadra

Ashish Bhadra is a prominent ex-Bangladeshi footballer of the 1980s.[1] An Attacking midfielder he achieved most of his laurels while playing for Abahani KC in the Dhaka League. He was a big factor in Abahani almost totally dominating the Dhaka football in the early part of the 1980s.

He also represented the national team with great distinction. [2]

Early Days

Originally from Chittagong,[3] Ashish joined the Rahmatganj MFS in 1977 and became a regular for the team the next season. In 1981, he joined Abahani as the long term replacement for the midfielder Amalesh Sen.

Success with Abahani

At Abahani, Ashish formed a midfield duo with Khurshid Alam Babul. However, initially the partnership took a bit of time to gel. And in the Federation Cup final against arch rivals MSC, it was Badal Roy, the MSC captain who reigned supreme as his team won 2-0.

But Abahani took revenge in the League match winning 2-0 as the Ashish-Babul combination started to work together well. Abahani clinched the title and remained unbeaten till the very last match of the campaign. With the title already in their grasp, the sky blues lost their final match against team BJMC 1-0 with Basudev scoring the only game of the match. Ashish's biggest moment came late in the season when he scored a hattirck against an Indonesian team in the final edition of the Aga Khan Gold Cup football tournament in Dhaka. The sky blues won the match 5-0. [4] Ashish remained a star with Abahani for most part of the 1980s. [2]

International Career

In 1978 and in 1980, Ashish represented the Bangladesh U-19 team in Asian youth Championships. In 1980, Bangladesh finished runners up behind Qatar and thus qualified for the main event in Thailand. In early 1981, Ashish represented the Bangladesh (Red) team in the first President's Gold Cup in the Dhaka. The red was mostly made up of players of the U-19 team. The team reached the finals after beating a North Korea team in the tie-breaker after the match ended 1-1 in regulation time. Ashish scored the equalizer for the local team. The Reds lost the final 2-0 to a South Korean team. [5] [6]

He remained an integral part of the national team in the first half of the 80s. here also he had a successful partnership with Babul. Ashish's proudest moment came in the summer of 1985 at the famous Salt lake stadium, Calcutta, when he scored in the first half to give Bangladesh the lead against India in a WC qualifying match. The Indians, however, eventually won 2-1. Ashish Bhadra also had 59 goals and 170 assists in his lifelong career of 20 years.[2][7][8]

Awards

In 2012, Ashish was awarded the national sports award for his outstanding contribution to Bangladesh football. [9][10]

References
  1. "Asish shocked to see a downward graph of Bangladesh football". Asish shocked to see a downward graph of Bangladesh football | theindependentbd.com.
  2. "WC qualifier 1986- Asia". www.rsssf.com.
  3. "Aslam: Hard work will make you a good striker, not facebooking". Dhaka Tribune. 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  4. "Aga Khan Gold Cup".
  5. "President's Gold Cup".
  6. "SAFF Games gold medal, an illusion for the Bangladesh team". 2 May 2021.
  7. India Today, Web Desk. "India vs Bangladesh FIFA 2022 World Cup Qualifiers: When, where and how to watch". India Today. Archived from the original on 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  8. "Salt Lake Stadium set to be full house as Bangladesh take on India in Bengal". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  9. "32 stars honoured with Bangladesh National Sports Award".
  10. Correspondent, Senior. "National Sports Award for 32 Bangladesh sportsperson for 2010-12". bdnews24.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-04. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
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