‘We should not dare to dream of winning a medal’

Archer Ruman Sana's direct qualification to 2020 Tokyo Olympics has seemingly fueled the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) to dream something big this time around even though it has always been a token participation in the Olympics for Bangladesh since its first appearance at world's showpiece event in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.

Ruman is the country's second athlete, after golfer Siddiqur Rahman, to qualify directly for the Olympics and the 26-year-old archer has been in focus among six Bangladeshi athletes participating in Tokyo Olympics. Ruman has come to this stage after achieving a lot of international successes over the years by winning gold and silver medals from Asian Grand Prix, Asia Cup, International Archery tournament in Kyrgyzstan, South Asian Games, ISSF Islamic Solidarity Archery Championships, South Asian Archery Championships, etc.

However, winning a bronze medal from the World Archery Championships in 2019 outshone all of his previous success as through this tournament he secured his place at Olympics by competing against the world-class archers. Thus everyone now believes that Ruman can do something special in Tokyo for the nation which never won an Olympic medal.

Ruman shared his thoughts with The Daily Star before departing for Japan on Friday regarding his thoughts about the Tokyo Olympics and how he has prepared to face this mega challenge.

"Directly qualifying for the Olympics was a big dream for me and it has been the biggest achievement in my career I think. I still feel proud of myself as well as for the country. As everyone is expecting something from me, I will try my level best and I will really be happy with whatever I put up in the grand stage," said Ruman.

"Realistically, we can't win a medal from the Olympics without a long-term plan that grooms talented athletes who can qualify for the Olympics directly in good numbers and be capable of winning medals.

"Also, it is not possible to bring a medal from the Olympics only on the back of mental strength. Since we had always struggled to qualify for the Olympics, so I think, we should not dare to dream of winning an Olympic medal at this stage," the lad from Khulna opined.

Replying to a query about his preparations so far, Ruman expressed his frustrations.

"If you look at the Olympics preparation of South Korean archers who had set their sights on gold, they have been given a range of facilities, like having artificial wind and rain at their training arena. Comparatively, we did not receive any special training, food or incentive. And now looking back, if I ask myself- what rewards have I been given after qualifying for the Olympics, winning a bronze medal from the World Archery Championships and silver medal in mixed event from the World Cup? Well, it's nothing!"

Currently, Ruman and his team are in Tokyo and have begun training with all hopes of achieving a near miraculous success.