Siddikur off to Thailand today

Bangladeshi golfer Siddikur Rahman jets off to Thailand today to participate in the King's Cup which is scheduled to be held from July 28 to 31. The 31-year old stated that he has not set any specific target for the 750,000-dollar event as he plans to attend it as a preparation of sorts and to hone his skills for next month's Summer Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"Like the previous few events, I am not setting any targets for this event as I want to enjoy the game. I hope it will be a good workout ahead of the Olympics," the two-time Asian Tour winner said after a photo session for the Bangladesh contingent arranged by the Bangladesh Olympic Association at the Kurmitola Golf Club yesterday.

Siddikur will return from Thailand on August 1 and fly off for Rio the following day. Siddikur is to carry the national flag at the Olympics' opening ceremony march-past on August 5 and will have quite a bit of time to acclimate to the South American conditions, where he will compete for the first time.

"The golf event will take place from August 14 to 17, and there will likely be only two days of practice at the games' golf course. So I guess the time I will get ahead of that will be put to acclimatizing with the conditions," said the ace golfer, who also launched his official website, www.siddikurrahman.com, yesterday.