The Bangladesh Olympic Association will be pinning their hopes for medals on cricket and kabaddi and is aiming for a better show in shooting, archery and gymnastics in the impending Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, starting from September 19.
Initially, the BOA decided to send athletes from 21 disciplines but their dismal show in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow forced them to drop eight disciplines for the Asiad.
As a result, Bangladesh now will be taking part in 13 disciplines – cricket, kabaddi, football, hockey, fencing, taekwondo, wushu, beach volleyball, archery, golf, gymnastics, karate and shooting, the only event in which Bangladesh won a medal in the Glasgow Games.
‘Since both the men’s and women’s cricket teams have won gold and silver medals respectively and women’s kabaddi team earned bronze in the 2012 Guangzhou Asian Games, we hope they will continue their performance this time in Incheon too,’ said the BOA secretary general, Syed Shahed Reza, at a press conference at the BOA House on Saturday.
Shahed was also optimistic that the shooters, archers and gymnasts will deliver better results this time as the BOA has been giving special training for shooting, archery and gymnastics under high-profile foreign coaches for the last seven months.
Asked whether the decision of exclusion of so many disciplines would discourage the future athletes, Shahed said: ‘There is nothing to be disheartened or discouraged, because we will groom the athletes from their childhood and for the current athletes, they will have to perform better to ensure their participation in the multi-sports game.’
Though, there were no representatives from cricket at the press conference but the people from kabaddi, shooting and archery expressed their mixed feelings about the upcoming games.
‘We are hopeful of retaining the medal with the training we had, but the fact is that the players may lack the match temperament because of not playing enough practice matches. Besides, we don’t know the current status of hosts Korea, whom we beat four years ago,’ said the women’s Kabaddi team coach Subimal Das after the programme.
Commonwealth Games silver medallist Abdullah Hel Baki believes that it will be tough for the Bangladeshi shooters to qualify for the eight-man final round.
‘If I can put in my best, I can win medals in any Games. However, I will be trying to show my performance that I put at the Commonwealth Games,’ said Baki.
Archer Emdadul Haque Milon thinks since archery is dominated by the Asians it will be a hard to earn something.
-With New Age input
