Sana to spearhead hopes in SA Games
Ruman Sana, the best archer of Bangladesh, said he is confident of delivering gold to the nation in the upcoming South Asian Games to repay the faith of the Bangladesh Archery Federation (BAF) and the support provided by the City Group.
The 24-year-old recurve archer, who qualified for the 2020 Olympics with a bronze-medal winning feat in the World Archery Championships in the Netherlands before winning gold medal in Stage 3 of the Asia Cup – both this year – wants to end the year on a high by adding an SA Games gold medal to his tally.
“All’s well that ends well. I would really like to end the year on a high with a good performance at the SA Games after the achievements earlier in the year,” Sana told reporters at the Bangladesh Olympic Association following a programme organised by sponsors City Group regarding the third-year budget disclosure of the company’s sponsorship deal with BAF.
The archer from Khulna said he and the other Bangladeshi archers are much more improved than before, which is why they are confident of success in the SA Games, which will be held in Nepal from December 1 to 10.
“I know the Indian archers who will play there and I also know their score updates. I have compared my scores to theirs’. This will be my first South Asian Games. My target is to go to the final, and if I can reach the final, I believe I can win gold medal,” Sana said.
BAF’s general secretary Kazi Rajib Uddin Ahmed Chapol echoed Sana’s sentiment, saying that they expect two or more gold medals from the SA Games.
“In earlier editions, SA Games was not on our priority list. But this time we are prepared for the games and we are hoping to get at least two, maybe more, in recurve and compound events,” Chapol told reporters.
Bangladesh had won three silver and three bronze medals in the last edition of the SA Games held in India in 2016.
Earlier, City Group’s executive director Zafar Uddin Siddiqui highlighted various aspects of their sponsorship over the last two years and subsequent achievements of the archers. He also disclosed a Tk 2.41 crore budget for archery sponsorship – an increase of Tk 21 lacs from the previous year – for the third year of the five-year deal.