Facilities in ruins
Nine weeks into the training camp for the upcoming 12th South Asian Games, the athletes are still facing constraints at different venues as well dormitories, resulting in the athletes not fully concentrating on training.
The high-ups of the different national federations raised those issues at the meeting of the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) yesterday and requested them to solve those problems immediately so that the athletes could train unhindered.
The federation officials informed BOA officials that some 10 to 12 athletes were accommodated in a single room of the NSC dormitory, the table tennis and badminton teams couldn't practice well on the damaged floor of the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Gymnasium, the swimmers couldn't judge their real performances without electronic timers, the gymnasium and dormitory of Mohammad Ali boxing stadium are in poor condition, the NSC gymnasium lacks sufficient lighting, while there are problems in toilets and bathrooms of the Women's Sports Complex in Dhanmondi and Mirpur Krira Palli.
"After being informed of the problems the athletes are facing, we sat with the sports minister [Biren Shikdar] today [Tuesday] to solve those problems and the sports minister instructed the concerned authorities to fix alleviate those problems within a week," said BOA vice president Harunur Rashid, after emerging from the meeting.
"The minister also assured the accommodation problems at the NSC dormitory would be solved after evacuating some rooms which are occupied by some sports organisers," said Rashid, who will lead a three-member BOA delegation to the SA Games meeting to be held in Chennai on October 11.
"As the disciplines have already been finalized, we will be trying to include those events in which we have a good chance of doing well at the October 11 meeting. We have already discussed it with other participating members of SAARC countries and want their supports to finalise the events of the Games," said Rashid.
The Organising Committee of the SA Games in India has already excluded three disciplines -- golf, cricket and karate -- from the Dhaka SA Games in which Bangladesh won five gold medals.
The 12th SA Games are scheduled to be held in Shillong and Guwahati in India from January 10 to 20.
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