Most of the athletes and officials of the 29-member Bangladesh contingent for the 2nd Asian Youth Games, which begin on August 16, will leave Dhaka for Nanjing, China today.
The shooting team left Dhaka on Tuesday.
23 athletes from eight different disciplines – athletics, swimming, shooting, weightlifting, golf, badminton, basketball and taekwondo – will participate in the youth meet.
Although the contingent is almost twice as big as the team that went to the 2009 edition in Singapore, the Bangladesh Olympic Association could not be sure of their success in the competition.
However, Wing Commander Rafiqul Islam, member secretary of the BOA training and development committee, expects that the shooters, golfers and weightlifters will perform
well enough to compete for medals.
In the 1st Asian Youth Games, Bangladesh participated in swimming, shooting, athletics and basketball, but only 50m freestyle swimmer Mahfizur Rahman Sagor brought some delight by reaching the semi-finals of his event.
BOA treasurer Kazi Razibuddin Ahmed Chapal has been made chef de mission of the Bangladesh contingent, while golfer Afnan Chowdhury will be the flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
-With New Age input
