Fastest sprinter suspended for a year

Bangladesh's fastest sprinter Mohammad Ismail has been suspended from participating in any domestic and international meet for one year by the Bangladesh Athletics Federation (BAF) over disciplinary ground.

The suspension has come into effect from October 2, according to BAF general secretary Abdur Rakib Montu.

The 29-year-old athlete, who represents Bangladesh Navy in domestic meets, had questioned BAF's decision of sending Zahir Rayhan instead of him to this year's Olympics in Tokyo. Zahir, a 200m specialist was provided the wildcard allocated to BAF by the IOC for Tokyo 200, meaning that the reigning 100m champion was ignored.

The Navy athlete had written to BOA to reconsider the decision, pointing finger at the BAF high-ups. Ismail had also spoken to various media outlets, expressing his frustration over the issue.

The BAF, meanwhile, had sent a show-cause notice to the athlete while forming a committee to probe the incident. Upon directives from the committee, the BOA decided to impose the punishment on the athlete. BAF's GS Abdur Rakib Montu revealed the decision to media today.