Imranur Rahman, an expatriate from England, participated in the national championship two years ago and broke the 22-year-old record and won the title of the fastest man in the country. Since then, all the eyes of the Bangladesh Athletic Federation are on him. The federation used to send only Imranur Rahman in most of the international competitions.
Because of Imranur, other athletes fell behind. Complaints were raised that the country’s athletics has become Imranur Rahman-centric, while others are being deprived. Meanwhile, Imranur grabbed all the limelight by winning gold in Asian Indoor 60m last year in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Many people thought that it was not possible for anyone else except Imran to snatch success from the international arena. Because of this, London expats are given more facilities at this hotel. But other athletes do not get even a drop of benefits.
Those neglected athletes have shown that they can also bring honor to the country if given a chance. Zaheer Raihan won silver in 400 meters and Mahfuzur Rahman won bronze in high jump at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championship that ended in Tehran, Iran, said that they also have the ability.
Imranur Rahman could not. He lost the gold he won in Kazakhstan and became fourth in Iran. And Zaheer Raihan fought for the first time. He showed his brilliance by winning silver. Mahfuzur Rahman also brightened the country by winning bronze on the night of Imranur’s failure.
When the athletic team returned home on Tuesday night, the athletes were felicitated at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. And on Wednesday afternoon they arrived at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. 400m silver winner Zaheer Raihan and high jump bronze winner Mahfuzur Rahman told the media about the medal winning story in Tehran.
Zaheer and Mahfuzur were greeted with flowers at the airport the night before. Even after Bangabandhu arrived at the National Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, garlands were placed around their throats. Such a scene is rare in Bangladesh athletics. When an athlete returns home after participating in an international competition, there is hardly any euphoria. Therefore, an exceptional scene was seen on the track of Bangabandhu National Stadium on Wednesday.
He has given many responses in these few days after winning silver. But how do you feel now when you come back to the country and tell the story before and after winning the medal? Zaheer Raihan said, ‘It feels good to win the medal for the country by the grace of Allah. This is the first time I have participated in the Asian Indoor Championship. I have brought fame to the country. I tried my best. I am very happy to win silver.’
Zaheer Raihan said in response to the question whether there was any hope of a medal after going to participate for the first time, ‘There was a national championship a few days ago. That’s when I set the target. Good things to do in Asian Indoors. I made myself that way. People who have worked with me, my organization Navy, Federation, BOA. Besides, I have trained in BKSP. Also others who helped me. With the help of everyone, I was able to do this today.’
Although Imranur Rahman lost the gold this time, he did not forget to mention the motivation of this London expatriate athlete behind his silver. Zaheer congratulates Imran bhai. He brought us the first indoor gold. I got inspiration from him. He brought honor to the country. Seeing his success made us stubborn that he can do it, we can do it too. That’s how we made ourselves. We have tried to establish ourselves on the Asian stage. If I continue to practice properly, I can do better in the future. It is possible to do something good at the Asian level if the deficiencies in the facilities of the athletes are fully met.
Zaheer could not win the gold for a short time. Referring to the loss of energy at the end, the Bangladesh Navy athlete said, ‘In the last stage of the 400m event, the energy was lost. Moreover, another thing is the difference in weather. This was the first time I competed on indoor turf without practice. There is a training issue here. I gave my best. At one time I thought I might be the first. Needless to say, I lacked an experience. So I fell behind a little in the last step.’
High jumper Mahfuzur Rahman is very happy after winning bronze. On returning home, he said, ‘This is my second international medal. Earlier got silver in SA Games. But this is my first medal in indoor and Asian level. Thanks to Allah. This is Bangladesh’s first high jump medal in Asia. It is possible to bring more success if you practice well.’
RI/IHS/
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