'I'll regret missing gold all my life'

Commonwealth Games silver medallist shooters Abdullah Hel Baki and Shakil Ahmed have been overwhelmed with arrangements that the Bangladesh Shooting Sport Federation (BSSF) made to celebrate their feat yesterday.

Upon their return from Gold Coast last night, the BSSF arranged a victory rally with the participation of all the shooters, officials, coaches and well-wishers as some 10 pick-up vans, decked out with flowers and other adornments, carried the shooters, who waved to the enthusiastic crowd on their way across the streets of Gulshan and Hatirjheel.

Although Baki had previously won a silver medal in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and mixed and team gold medals in other competitions, he did not get such reception before. So he was really surprised to get such a welcome.

“It is a different feeling to be a part of such a victory rally and I enjoyed it very much. It is an honour and recognition for me,” Baki said. “I believe such initiatives will not only inspire the medal winners but also the shooters who took part in the rally.”

“I had no prior notion of such arrangements and I had a lot of fun standing on the open vehicle,” Shakil said. “People now know that there is an event called shooting in Bangladesh and shooters have some international success.”

28-year-old Baki was however, still ruing the fact that he narrowly missed out on the gold in the 10m air rifle event.

“The gold medal was just one shot away from me but I missed it despite everything being in my favour. I will have the regret of not winning the gold for the rest of my life, even if I win a medal in the Olympics,” said the lad from Gazipur, who scored 244.7 points in shootout, just 0.3 points less than Australia's Dane Sampson, who won the gold medal.

While Bangladesh have won medals in the SA Games, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, the country has never won a single medal in the Olympics, something which Baki wants to see the end of.

“When I started shooting, my ultimate target was to win an Olympic medal and I still dream of winning an Olympic medal. But I need to improve my qualification scores first to reach the finals in Olympics. If I can reach the final round, then it may be possible to win a medal with the scores I achieved in Gold Coast,” said Baki. 

Shakil was not in the centre of attention before the games, but the 24-year-old surprised all to win a silver medal in the 50m air pistol event, like he did during the 2016 SA Games.

“I knew what I could do even though I was not in limelight. I just tried to score what I did during practice sessions because I was confident about winning a medal,” said Shakil, who is now looking forward to doing something good in the upcoming Asian Games in Jakarta.

“I think I can compete against other shooters in the Asian Games with the scores I have achieved in qualification in Gold Coast, winning the medal depends on luck,” said the lad from Khulna.

Both shooters will receive Tk 12 lakh each – seven lakh from the federation and five lakh from the Bangladesh Olympic Association as per a previous announcement.