10 archers selected for training
Keeping their ambitious target for the 2020 Olympics in mind, the Bangladesh Archery Federation (BAF), in association with sponsors City Group, selected 10 archers from the 2,555 participants in a talent hunt programme to strengthen the pipeline for the national archery team.
Under the 'Teer Go For Gold' project, the game's local governing body launched the programme in July across 12 different districts.
Two archers -- a boy and a girl -- were selected from each of the participating districts for a training camp in Dhaka, which was completed in two phases over two months at the Master Ahsanullah Stadium in Gazipur.
Bangladesh coach Fredrick Martin then chose the final 10 archers, which features one girl, for long term training on Wednesday.
"There were different stages of grooming the archers. Firstly, they were beginners who needed time to grow and needed experience of competing at the international level. These [the 10 archers] are talented ones who possess the physical strength to play archery. But it is also a mental game and we now need to groom their mental strength, motivation and personality to help them grow," said Martin, adding that Germany had taken 12 years to win a silver medal after launching their talent hunt programme.
BAF president Lt Gen (rtd) Mainul Islam, BOA secretary Syed Shahed Reza, City Group executive director Shoeb M Asaduzzaman and BAF general secretary Kazi Razibuddin Ahmed Chapal were, among others, present during the distribution of training certificates among the 24 archers.
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