Junayna set to make a splash

England-born Bangladeshi swimmer Junayna Ahmed will be at the centre of attention when the Max Group 29th National Swimming, Diving and Waterpolo Championships get underway after a nearly two-year gap at the Syed Nazrul Islam Swimming Complex in Mirpur today.

Junayna set eight national records during her debut appearance in the junior swimming championships in 2017, winning 10 gold medals out of the 11 events she participated in. She will represent Bangladesh Navy in this edition.

Junayna, now 17, landed in the capital yesterday and is expected to compete in 12 of the 19 women's events the tournament is comprised of. She also came to Dhaka last year to participate but ultimately had to fly back to England following the championship's suspension.  

“Due to the busyness for talent hunt programme, we could not hold the national championship last year but this time we expect a competitive championship as an England-born swimmer came here to complete,” Bangladesh Swimming Federation's vice president Rafiz Uddin Ahmed said at a press conference at the BOA auditorium yesterday.

Ahmed added that the events will be timed by a newly-installed electronic device. Ahmed also went on to inform that they were forced to hold all national championships without the electronic board as it turned dysfunctional after the completion of 2010 SA Games in Dhaka.