193 gold medals up for grabs in youth games

Around 4000 athletes will compete in 193 events at 24 venues across Dhaka in the final phase of the Sheikh Kamal 2nd Bangladesh Youth Games, which will get underway at the Army Stadium on February 26, organisers at a press conference informed yesterday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the opening ceremony while Army chief General  SM Shafiuddin Ahmed will preside over the concluding ceremony, which will be held at the same venue on March 24.

The final phase of the youth games will bring to a conclusion a sporting extravaganza which started at upazila level on January 2 and involved around 60,000 athletes, organisers, coaches and technical staff.

Bangladesh Olympic Association's secretary general Syed Shahed Reza briefed media on the details of the event at the press conference at the BOA auditorium where other BOA high-officials including Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Mamun, Ashikur Rahman Miku and AK Sarker, among others, replied to journalists' queries.

The torch relay will be held from Tungipara in Gopalganj and the games flame will be lit by sprinter Imranur Rahman and karateka Marzan Akter Priya, organisers informed.

The organisers claimed that the best performers will be selected for higher training, just like the last time around when around 300-350 young athletes were chosen following the first youth games in the country in 2017.

The athletes will get a daily accommodation fee of Tk 600, daily food diet of Tk 600 and a one-time conveyance of Tk 1600, the organisers claimed.

Replying to a query whether this amount is too little during times of high inflation, the organisers said they preferred to adopt austerity measures even though they have sponsors in the form of Bankers Association of Bangladesh alongside Saif Powertec and Walton Group as co-sponsors.

They also said that the opening and closing ceremonies will be entertaining ones but will be on a small scale due to cost-cutting measures.