Budding athletes seek further training

Under the national sports council's program titled 'The U-16 sports talent hunt at the grassroots and training at national level', some 104 athletes from eight disciplines -- handball, volleyball, kabaddi, boxing, swimming, judo, weightlifting and chess -- gathered in Dhaka to undergo a 10-day training, conducted by the National Sports Council (NSC) coaches.

The country's budding athletes have been quite happy to undergo short-term training but they apparently sought further training in a bid to reach a competitive level.

NSC, the Country's sports regulatory body, had initially arranged a preliminary 10-day training at district level with each of eight disciplines having nearly 50 athletes. Later, some 10 to 15 athletes from each discipline were selected for training in Dhaka.

"I have had good facilities and training here and learned a lot of things. If we could have long-term training, I think we can compete well at the junior national swimming championships and deliver good results," Rabbi Hasan from Kushtia told The Daily Star after attending a certificate distribution ceremony at the NSC Tower on Thursday (June 30, 2022).

Rabbi was one of seven swimmers joining the training in Dhaka from Kushtia.

"After returning home from Dhaka, I will prepare myself for the junior national championships as I want to improve my timing," Rabbi added.

"I have learned new techniques from the training camp and I think I will be able to do better in the butterfly event," said Sajed Hossain Rishad from Rajbari, who had earlier failed to secure a place in the district team for the national junior championships.

"I believe this training will help me represent Rajbari in the junior championships and win medals. But I have to continue the training in Dhaka and that is a big challenge," added Rishad, who was one of 13 swimmers from Rajbari selected for training.

Meanwhile, Narayanganj's Jannatul Aktar Rima and Synthia, who were here for judo training, have a specific dream in their minds. 

"I have trained in Narayanganj before but the training in Dhaka will help me to become a good judo player in the future. Through judo, I want to secure a job in the Bangladesh army," said eighth-grader Rima.

Synthia echoed the same sentiment, "I usually play judo in Narayanganj but I think I learned new techniques which will help me a lot in the future. I want to continue playing judo because I want to get into the Bangladesh Army. However, I know I have to perform well and produce good results and I need further training to improve."

Judo coach AK Azad sees was delighted with what he had witnessed during the training program.
"There are a few bright prospects as they are very eager to learn. If they continue playing judo, we will not have a scarcity of players in the future," said Azad, adding that they don't have any problem providing further training.

National awardee and weightlifting coach Sharia Sultana Suchi believes long-term training has always produced good players.

"It could have been better had we provided them a long-term training but I think we taught them basic technique and knowledge in their respective disciplines. I think if these athletes continue training under their local coaches in line with the guidelines, these athletes can improve further. The bottom line is that the continuation of training is very important for the athletes if we want to see them at the national level," the former national weightlifter told The Daily Star.