Bangladesh U-21 hockey team have been awarded a hefty cash prize of Tk 60 lakh following their commendable showing at the recently concluded FIH Hockey Junior World Cup.

The announcement was made on Monday by Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) president Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan during a reception programme at Shaheen Dwip Resort in the Dhaka Cantonment.

Of the total amount, the BHF will provide Tk 40 lakh, while the Bangladesh Air Force will contribute Tk 20 lakh.

The junior side finished 17th among 24 teams to win the Challenger Trophy at the global event. The Bangladesh U-21 squad comprised 19 players and 10 members of the coaching staff, including Dutch coach Siegfried Aikman, who is scheduled to depart Dhaka on December 18.

The BHF president also announced a Tk 10 lakh cash award for the Bangladesh women's U-18 hockey team after their bronze-medal finish at the AHF Junior Women's Asia Cup.

While pleased with the federation's gesture, members of the men's U-21 team expressed disappointment over the lack of recognition from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

"We are, of course, happy with the announcement of the cash award by the federation, which declared the amount as per their capacity," U-21 captain Mehrab Hossain Samin told The Daily Star over the phone.

"We knew the federation would have announced a bigger award for the players had they possessed the ability, but they have financial constraints."

He continued, "We had big expectations from the government because we were not given anything remarkable after qualifying for the Junior World Cup, compared to the international successes of national junior and senior teams.

"The Youth and Sports Ministry disbursed Tk 2 crore among the national football team's members for only a victory over India [in Asian Cup Qualifiers]. It seems that we are the neglected ones."

Samin, a Dhaka University student, is now turning his focus to the upcoming inter-services hockey tournament with the Bangladesh Navy team. However, he urged the federation to restart the domestic league without delay.

"If we want to do something good in future and take our level to the next level, we need to play more matches in the domestic league, which is of a high standard.

"This will help players sharpen their techniques and skills and rectify what they learned from the Junior World Cup," said Samin, adding that regular domestic competition would also inspire others and strengthen the development pipeline.