The Bangladesh Olympic Association singled out five disciplines for a six-month development programme initiated by BOA president General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan,
it was decided at an executive committee meeting on Tuesday.
The BOA had their eyes on shooting, archery, boxing, taekwondo and karate which they thought would bring international recognition for the country. The successful athletes of the recently concluded eighth Bangladesh Games will receive extra significance in the programme.
The swimming and athletics events have barely seen achievements in the past. However, since these two disciplines are considered the mother of all sports events in a Games, the BOA are trying to add these categories to their agenda.
The BOA and the Bangladesh Shooting Federation are drawing up a plan to usher in success in shooting keeping in mind the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
Meanwhile, archery has not yet yielded any accomplishments despite showing promise but the BOA officials are reserving a great amount of importance to it in the programme due to its potential.
Boxing, taekwondo and karate will also garner attention due to its previous success in the 2010 South Asian Games in Dhaka and beyond.
‘We will meet again next month and finalise the details of the programme. Initially we will select 100 athletes and officials for this purpose and we will gradually decrease the number of athletes from the list on the basis of their performances,’ informed wing commander Rafiqul Islam, member secretary of BOA’s training and development committee.
‘The BOA will provide an estimated budget of Tk one crore from their fund to arrange the six-month training program but if we want international success, we have no other options but to receive help from the government,’ he added.
In order to run the programme smoothly, the BOA are thinking about taking assistance from Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Prothisthan and Army Sports Control Board.
-With New Age input
