Bangladesh Youth Games mulled

The Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) is mulling of holding the Bangladesh Youth Games in December-January in a bid to build a pipeline to the different national teams .The initiative has been intensified following the failure of the senior athletes in the just concluded Commonwealth Games.

The BOA is also planning to stage the biennial Youth Games from the grassroots level, starting from Upazila up to district, division and ending in capital, with the participation of U-18 athletes and then help the budding athletes to get into the senior level.

“The BOA executive committee has formed a committee on the Bangladesh Youth Games to work on the plan. We have been designing the format of the Games so that the young athletes can join the mainstream after participating in the Youth Games,” said convenor of Youth Games Committee Badal Roy yesterday.

“We want to create a vibe and enthusiasm in the activities of different federations by holding Bangladesh Games and Bangladesh Youth Games in alternative years,” said BOA's deputy secretary general Badal, adding that they believe such initiatives from BOA would help Bangladesh's performance in international level, especially in the South Asian Games.

Roy informed that they initially planned to hold the Youth Games with 20 to 22 disciplines, but said the number of disciplines might be increased, subject to the potential of those disciplines.