Bangladesh swimming’s new crown Jewel
Determination, hard work and desire helped Jewel Ahmed become the best swimmer at the Bangabandhu 31st National Swimming, Diving and Water Polo Championships as the swimmer, representing Bangladesh Army, ended the competition by producing a third record on the concluding day at the Syed Nazrul Islam National Swimming Complex in Mirpur yesterday.
Jewel, who bettered his own record time in the 200m backstroke and 200m butterfly, created another record in the 400m individual medley by clocking in 4 minutes and 46.13 seconds, eclipsing the 4 minutes 47.34 seconds taken by Kajal Mia.
However, the 27-year-old also saw two of his national records shattered in the 50m backstroke and 100m backstroke by teammate Samiul Islam Rafi. But that did not take away from Jewel's pride.
"Due to injury, I could participate in only one event [in the last national championships], so I promised myself that I would become the best player in the next edition.
I worked really hard and willed myself to get this far and I am happy that I became the best swimmer in the competition," added Jewel, who bagged silver in the 400m medley in the last South Asian Games in Kathmandu.
"To be honest, it was disappointing for all the swimmers that they had to compete without electronic timers, which were installed after spending crores. Due to hand-timing, we cannot get our exact timing and struggle in the international competitions. Besides, there may be dissatisfaction if the time-keeper is a bit late. But with an electronic board, a swimmer can easily see how close he was to losing or winning a medal," the lad from Kushtia added.
Jewel believes swimmers have been improving gradually and pointed to the 19 new national records set at the event as evidence of that upturn.
Sonia Akther of Bangladesh Navy was named the best female swimmer after grabbing five gold medals and creating one new record.
Bangladesh Navy became champions with 33 gold, 25 silver and 14 bronze medals while Bangladesh Army finished runners-up with nine gold, 13 silver and 17 bronze medals. BKSP came in third with one gold, five silver and 10 bronze medals.
Bangladesh Swimming Federation president and Bangladesh Navy chief Admiral M Shaheen Iqbal, Youth and sports secretary Mesbah Uddin and BSF vice-president Engineer Golam Mohammad Alamgir were among others present at the prize-giving ceremony.
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