BOA postpones event due to coronavirus
The Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) yesterday postponed the upcoming Bangabandhu Bangladesh Games duo to the outbreak of coronavirus.
The ninth edition of the multi-disciplinary sports extravaganza was scheduled be held from April 1 across 33 venues in Dhaka, Gazipur and Cox's Bazar with the participation of 10,600 athletes as well as nearly 4,000 officials.
The announcement was made yesterday afternoon after BOA president and Army Chief General Aziz Ahmed and BOA secretary general Syed Shahed Reza met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the morning.
"We had made preparations to hold the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Games from April 1 and we already had some meetings regarding the Games. You know that coronavirus was declared a pandemic yesterday [Wednesday] because it spreads fast. World Health Organisation has been passing alerts to densely-populated countries like Bangladesh and the government directed that we avoid mass gatherings," BOA vice president and the Games' steering committee chairman Bashir Ahmed Mamun said at a press conference at the BOA Bhaban yesterday.
"The Bangladesh Games are part of the 100th birthday celebration of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the main programme of the celebration on 17th March has been deferred due to many reasons, including coronavirus. The programmes on Independence Day were also cut short. Different games including cricket have also been deferred so we also have to temporary postpone the Bangladesh Games," Mamun said, adding that participating athletes also expressed concerns over coronavirus.
"The BOA president and the secretary general went to our advisor [Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina], who suggested that we take care of the athletes' health so they can take part in the Games properly. She also advised us about whether to defer the Games by a few days. Today, we sat and decided to defer the Games. We will let you know the new dates for the Games after sitting with federation officials again."
After the press briefing, BOA secretary general Reza said that they could not take risks with people's health and they would be liable if anything happened during the Bangladesh Games.
However, he said the Games would be rearranged for this year as Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth centenary would continue till March next year.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board had also postponed all its programmes for the birth centenary while some national federations such as volleyball, basketball, cycling, basketball and archery postponed international competitions for Bangabandhu's 100th birth celebration.
Comments