Bangladesh eye medals in Asian Archery Championships

Bangladesh archery team's head coach Martin Frederick is optimistic that the home archers will improve on their individual and team standings by getting into medals table in the upcoming Teer 22nd Asian Archery Championships, which begins in Dhaka on November 13.

This will be second time that Bangladesh will host the continental event, four years after hosting it first. In 2017, Bangladesh's best effort was finishing fourth in women's compound team event.

However, Bangladesh's archery, spearheaded by Ruman Sana, has come a long way since then and Frederick, who took charge of the team in 2018, believes his charges can grab a few medals this time.

"I want (medals). I want to make them better. I will not say colours (of medals I want)," Frederick told reporters at official press conference for the meet at a hotel in the capital yesterday. Around 130 archers from 16 countries are expected to take part in the week-long championship to feature 10 events and to be staged at the Bangladesh Army Stadium.

Frederick believes South Korea, the dominant power in world archery, will be the main contenders for the titles and main competitors for Bangladesh too.

"Asian is the strongest continent in archery Korea is the most powerful nation. Then there will be a good meeting with the neighbours India. But we will fight," Frederick said.

Bangladesh Archery Federation's general secretary Kazi Razibuddin Ahmed Chapal admitted that they had a disastrous World Championship campaign in USA in September, but they will be a force in the Asian Archery Championship at home.

"I don't want to talk about any explicit targets and I have never done so, but I can say I see Korea as our opponents here," Chapal said.

Bangladesh will field 15 members in the championships, two of whom will be making their international bows. The team is currently in training in at the Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master Stadium Tongi and they will start practising at the Army Stadium from November 9, informed Chapal.

The press meet was attended, among others, by BAF's president Lt gen Moinul Islam, sponsors City Group's director Mohammad hasan and City Group's executive director Zafar Uddin Siddique.