Ashish Bhadra

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

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 1981 Federation Cup final against arch rivals MSC, it was Badal Roy, the MSC captain who reigned supreme as his team won 2-0.

Ashish Bhadra is a prominent ex-Bangladeshi footballer of the 1980s. 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.

Ashish remained a star with Abahani for most part of the 1980s, and only spent one year with arch-rivals Mohammedan SC before returning again the following year. He hanged up his boots while playing for Abahani, during the 1990 Dhaka League, after lifting the league title one last time. He captained Abahani alongside the Bangladesh national team for almost an entire decade.

He also represented the national team with great distinction and was named captain as well. After making his debut in 1978, from 1980 till 1988 Ashish captained Bangladesh regularly and was a crucial part of the country's first ever World Cup qualification campaign. He scored twice for the national team during his more than a decade of service.

Ashish joined the Rahmatganj MFS in 1978 and became a regular for the team the next season. He performed well during his first league game, which was against Brothers Union, and went onto become a regular member in the team for the following three years. In 1981, he joined Abahani as the long term replacement for the clubs legendary midfielder Amalesh Sen.

In 1978 and in 1980, Ashish represented the Bangladesh U-19 team in Asian Youth Championships. During the 1978 AFC Youth Championship held in Dhaka, Ahsish scored against Singapore in a 2-2 draw. In 1980, Bangladesh finished runners up behind Qatar and thus again qualified for the main event, held 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.

After performing well in the Youth Championship in 1978, Ahsish along with many other players from the Bangladesh U19 team were given a chance to play for the senior team at the 1978 Asian Games, by German coach Werner Bickelhaupt. In 1980, Bangladesh coach at the time, Abdur Rahim also included Ahsish in the 1980 AFC Asian Cup squad for the main tournament. Ashish first goal for the senior team came during a 2-1 win against Malaysia, during the 1982 Asian Games, this was Bangladesh's first win in the Asian Games as Badal Roy scored the winner. He remained an integral part of the national team in the first half of the 80s, and captained Bangladesh for almost half a decade. He also he had a successful partnership with Babul, due to their chemistry from playing in Abahani. 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 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification match. The Indians, however, eventually won 2-1. Ashish Bhadra also had 59 goals and 170 assists in his playing career of 20 years.

Ashish's journey started from school football. In 1976, he played Chittagong First Division League for Kazi Deuri Khawaja Recreation Club. He was the captain of that club in 1977 while still being a college student. Former footballer Iqbal Khan, the father of cricketer Tamim Iqbal, helped him during his time playing in the Chittagong Division. In 1977, he played for Chittagong in the zonal match with Sylhet in the National Football Championship. His team won 3-1 with Ahsish scoring two goals, this performance earned him a place in the Dhaka League the following year.