Ismail shattered by wildcard denial

After failing to get a wildcard for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, country's fastest man Mohammad Ismail yesterday appealed to the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) to reconsider the Bangladesh Athletic Federation's (BAF) nominations.

The BAF on Wednesday awarded 200-meter sprinter Zahir Rayhan an Olympic wildcard while excluding Ismail and fastest woman Shirin Akter from the three-athlete list, saying that Zahir has been performing consistently at domestic and international level.

However, in his letter, Ismail said that while Zahir is a good athlete, he has participated in neither the recently-concluded Bangabandhu Bangladesh Games nor the inaugural Iman Reza Cup in Iran. Ismail, who owns the national 100m sprint record, added that he had performed well in those events and gotten a good timing in the South Asian Games in December 2019.

"I am disappointed after not being selected for the Olympic Games. I beg you [BOA secretary general] to emphasise the 100m sprint event like previous editions by interfering with the selection process of BAF."