Former professional US basketball player Ruthie Bolton, who won two Olympic gold medals for her country, took part in an exhibition match in the city as part of the American Centre Sports diplomacy programme on Sunday. US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat also took part in the game at the American International School. The exhibition match was a culmination of Bolton’s four-day long activities, which included intensive basketball workshop sponsored by US embassy in Dhaka and Nari Uddug Kendra.
In addition to the workshop, she also conducted outreach sessions with Bangladesh’s emerging female basketball players and team members of Bangladesh Special Olympic, said officials.
Bolton, one of the most accomplished female athletes in the world, conducted a skill-training with nearly 60 Bangladeshi youth athletes during her visit to American School.
US Ambassador Bernicat also participated in the exhibition match and spoke about the role of the sports in empowering youth and women it.
‘Bangladesh has a lot of potentials for development of sports for the women in order to empower them,’ she said.
She recalled that women’s sports in the United States got a boost when the Congress passed the legislation in 1972.
Nari Uddug Kendra’s executive director Mashuda Khatun Shefali appealed to the government create opportunities of sports for women to enable the female community stands against all sorts of oppression, repressions and social stigma.
She urged the government to incorporate women sports including the women’s karate in the educational curriculum and extend necessary supports to them.
‘If they are properly cared, the country’s women can do better in any subject,’ she said.
-With New Age input
