Junior athletics without BKSP

After football, handball, hockey, basketball and cricket, athletics have also joined the resumption-rally with Bangabandhu 36th National Junior Athletics Championships getting underway on an unfit track at Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) from Friday.

It is the first competition arranged by the Bangladesh Athletics Federation (BAF) in 10 months since all sporting activities were suspended following the coronavirus outbreak in March.

Bangladesh Krira Shikkah Protisthan (BKSP), the champions of the last edition in January in Chattogram, will not be participating in the forthcoming championship due to the unavailability of players amid the shut-down of all educational institutes.

Some workers were yesterday seen doing repair works -- adjusting the edges of the damaged parts of the track by hammering pins onto it -- after the sporting body shifted the championship to BNS from Army Stadium citing financial constraints and their inability to pay bills worth Taka 20 lakhs otherwise required to stage the competition at the latter venue.

"We will be trying to save the athletes from getting injured as we are repairing the turf to bring it in good shape though the longevity of the athletic turf has already expired six years ago," BAF general secretary Abdur Rakib Montu told during a press conference yesterday.

"The athletes are really eager to take part in the championship. However, we will hold the championship in line with health guidelines.," said Montu, hoping that around 500 athletes from 64 districts and eight educational boards will be taking part in 41 events.

Montu also informed that BKSP athletes are going to compete in the district-level championship as the BKSP remained closed due to the pandemic.