DHAKA, Nov 23, 2019 (BSS)-A 621-member strong Bangladesh contingent will represent in the 13th South Asian Games which will be held in Kathmandu and Pokhara from December 1-10 in Nepal.
Bangladesh will be taking part in twenty five disciplines in the South Asian regional biggest extravaganza.
The twenty five disciplines are archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cycling, football, golf, fencing, Kho Kho, handball, hockey, judo, kabaddi, karate, shooting, squash, swimming, cricket, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.
The 621 member Bangladesh contingent included 595 athletes featuring 263 of men’s and 199 of women’s – trainers, chef de mission, deputy chef de missions, managers, team doctors and administrative officers.
The BOA deputy Secretary General and Bangladesh Handball Federation general secretary Asaduzzaman Kohinoor will lead the Bangladesh contingent while Youth and Sports Ministry’s Joint Secretary and BAO member Omor Farque and Bangladesh Judo Federation senior vice president SP Syeda Jannat Ara will act as the deputy chef de mission.
12th SA Games gold winning swimmer Mahfuza Khatun Shila will carry the Bangladesh national flag in the opening ceremony.
The Bangladesh volleyball team as a first batch to leave for Nepal on Monday (November-25) while the remaining batches of the contingent will leave in phases as per their playing schedule.
Swimming and cycling teams are already in Nepal while kabaddi team and archery team now in India and Thailand respectively and will join the team’s contingent later stage.
“I am very hopeful that the athletes would able to show their best in the meet …. actually our target is to do better than the last edition as athletes are very much confident about doing well in the games,’ said Bangladesh Olympic Association secretary general Syed Shahed Reza at a press conference held on Saturday at BOA auditorium.
“In the last six months the athletes were in rigorous training through the lean period due to lack of training venue, accommodation and attack of dengue. Nevertheless we have kept stick observation on them and they had provided them maximum facility during the training so that they can form a good team for the SA Games,” said the BOA secretary general.
The BOA secretary general however said that they have good prospect of archery, shooting and football in the games.
Replying to a question the BOA secretary general said they have allocated budget Taka thirty crore for the Games.
BOA secretary general Syed Shahed Reza also revealed that they have a plan to organize 9th Bangabandhu Bangladesh Games from April 1 to 10 next year.
Earlier, Bangladesh, featuring a 718-member contingent, finished fifth among eight nations in the last South Asian Games in India in 2016, winning four gold, fifteen silver and fifty six bronze medals.
SA Games chef de mission Asaduzzaman Kohinoor, BOA treasurer and Games media committee’s chairman Kazi Rajib Uddin Ahmed Chapal, Games deputy chef de missions Omar Farque and Syeda Jannat Ara, were among others, also present in the press conference.