Ismail happy with long jump gold

Sprinter Mohammad Ismail may have a regret of losing his 100m crown to England-based sprinter Imranur Rahman, but the four-time fastest sprinter found some solace by win gold medal in long jump event of the Shaheed Sheikh Kamal 45th National Athletics championships yesterday.

Ismail could not match his previous best of 7.51m he cleared in the Bangladesh Games last year but a clearance of 7.26m was good enough for him beat Ashraful Islam (7.22m) and Akram Hossain (6.90m) on way to winning an eighth gold medal overall in long jump event, during the second day at the Army Stadium in Banani.

"I never returned without a gold medal in individual events," said Ismail.

The 29-year-old sprinter also vowed to regain his 100m title in the next competition. "I welcome Imranur Rahman to the 100m sprint but I want to regain my title in the next competition and I am ready for hard work," said Ismail, who finished third in 100m sprint on Monday.