Hitting the bullseye

This space, where we look back at stars of the year that was, has usually been reserved for cricketers. But at the end of 2019, when it came to naming the Sportsperson of the Year, the Daily Star Sport team could look no further than archer Ruman Sana. While archery may not be the most visible discipline in the Bangladeshi sporting landscape, it is the one that arguably holds the most promise in 2020 in the form of Sana in the Tokyo Olympics.

In 2019, he has won gold in the Asia Cup and, most importantly, became only the second Bangladeshi to gain direct entry into the Olympics when he won bronze in the World Archery Championship. The year ended with the Khulna lad spearheading Bangladesh’s clean sweep of the South Asian Games archery events with three gold medals. 

Bangladesh have never won an Olympic medal, but Sana is not content with just participating. “681 is my career-best score in qualification,” Sana told The Daily Star in June. “From now on, my target will be to score 690-plus because nearly 10 archers in the world can score 690-plus in competition. If I can score 680-plus points regularly, then I will start believing that I can win an Olympic medal.”

That is indeed something to look forward to.