Mezbah, Shirin still unbeatable

Sprinters Mezbah Ahmed and Shirin Akter remained invulnerable in the 100m sprint at the national level as both hurdled past challenges to retain their titles and also their status as the country's fastest man and woman in the 41st National Athletics Championships, which concluded yesterday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Navy sprinter Mezbah, who came into the championships on the back of six consecutive gold medals in the 100m sprint, was almost dethroned by teammate Abdur Rouf. However, the 27-year-old just barely survived the scare, finishing one microsecond ahead of his challenger for a seventh gold in the event.

Mezbah's experience made the difference in the photo-finish as he had the awareness to lunge chest-first across the finish line and get the benefit from the electronic sensor while Rouf, who had led with his foot, had to settle for second.

Mezbah finished with a time of 10.783 seconds, while Rouf clocked in 10.793, a difference of just 0.010 seconds.

With his seventh gold -- four from National Athletics Championships, two from Summer Athletics Championships and one from Bangladesh Games -- he matches the mark of former sprinter Mosharraf Hossain Shamim, although all seven of the latter's golds came from the National Athletics Championships.

Shariful Islam of Bangladesh Army finished third with a time of 11.072 seconds.

"I knew that only Rouf could challenge me but I was confident of winning the gold medal this time too. You could say that I won the sprint by utilising my experience," Mezbah said after his win. "I also beat Rouf narrowly twice before and I think he needs to improve his technique.

"It is not easy for any athletes to win seven gold medals in the 100m sprint but I think I have been maintaining myself properly with the help of my coaches. That's why I am not beatable in the country. My target is to win another gold medal in the 100m sprint before calling time so that the next generation can recall my achievements and take inspiration," added Mezbah, who said he wanted to qualify for the semifinals of the 100m sprint in the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Australia.

"It was my second best time [10.783 seconds] and my best time [10.72 seconds] was in the 11th South Asian Games. But my target is to reduce it to 10.50 seconds. If I can clock 10.50 seconds, then I believe I can qualify for the semifinals at the Commonwealth Games."

In the women's event Shirin faced a less stiff challenge but also had to call on her experience to defeat Army teammate Shohagi Akter. Shirin clocked in at 12.297 seconds while Shohagi took 12.440 seconds.

After a sixth 100m sprint title -- four from National Athletics Championships and two from Summer Athletics Championship -- her new target was to match the achievements of former sprinter Lovely Sulatana, who won seven consecutive 100m sprint gold medals.

"It is not that I am becoming champion because of shortage of quality sprinters but because of continuous training. Though the time I secured is not good enough to win a medal at the international level, it is possible to improve the time and win medals at the international level. But [to do that] I need improved training," said Shirin.

However, coach Abdullah Hel Kafi was not too optimistic about Mezbah and Shirin's chances at a medal on the international stage.

"I think they have to improve a little. If Mezbah can clock 10.50 seconds then he can expect a bronze medal in the SA Games. A Sri Lankan sprinter won the 100m gold medal in last SA Games with a time of 10.28 while Mezbah finished fourth with a time of 10.72 seconds," said the BKSP coach.

The championship went to Bangladesh Army, who retained their crown with 15 gold, 21 silver and 11 bronze medals, followed by Bangladesh Navy who won an identical 15 golds, but only 9 silver and eight bronze medals. Bangladesh Jail, Bangladesh Ansar and Bangladesh Air Force bagged one gold each.