Leaders of the newly-elected Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) committee visited the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka on Friday morning.
BOA President General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, the chief of army staff, placed a floral wreath on the altar of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on behalf of the organization.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneBOA Vice President Kazi Nabil Ahmed and Secretary General Syed Shahed Reza, among other members, were also present on the occasion.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneAfter placing a floral wreath on the altar of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh Olympic Association president and Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed told the media, "We are commemorating the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh's independence and the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation. The programs that we had planned for the birth centenary of Bangabandhu, some could not be done due to Covid, those have been extended till March 26. It is a significant thing for the committee to take up the job responsibility at this point of time."
The BOA chief added, "We count ourselves lucky that we began our tenure in such a time. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is not only the Father of the Nation, he himself was a good player. He had a lot of affection for sports. As long as he was alive, he had this in him. Really, today we consider ourselves honored at being able to show our respects to him. Life we have said before, the committee wants to do better than before. Inshallah we can do it."
Bangladesh athletes will face a busy schedule this year, including the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in July-August and the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September. Regarding their targets, the BOA boss said, "When I first took up the responsibility I said I want to fix goals which are achievable. Thus we have set achievable goals. It may seem a lot but still achievable. Inshallah we will do it. We are fully prepared for this."
"We can't say anything specific now. But I hope we do better than before. But it depends on a lot of things. When it is your day, lot of things work in your favor. It is a matter of seconds sometimes to achieve. We are hopeful."
The BOA supremo informed that he has full trust in his committee, saying, "Whoever is in the committee are all specialists in their field. From the general secretary, vice president to members, everyone has achieved good things in their respective field. I trust them deeply. I want to think that we can achieve our targets."
On December 9 last year, a panel headed by Reza submitted nomination papers for the BOA elections. The last day to withdraw nominations was on December 17. However, since no one withdrew, everyone was elected unopposed, and there was no need for elections scheduled for December 22.
Kazi Nabil Ahmed, who is also vice president of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), and Archery Federation President Lt General (Retd) Moinul Islam entered the BOA executive committee for the first time as vice presidents.
Meanwhile, former vice presidents Shaikh Bashir Ahmed, Anjan Chowdhury and Mahbub Ara Begum Gini were re-elected.
Enthekhabul Hamid, secretary general of the Shooting Sports Federation, joined the BOA committee for the first time as deputy secretary general. Ashiqur Rahaman and Nazib Ahmed, who had previously held the post, remained this time around as well.
Basketball Federation General Secretary Lt Commander (retd) AK Sarkar was elected treasurer.
The other members of the committee are Asaduzzaman Kohinoor, MB Saif, Mohammad Ali Deen, Tabiur Rahman, Zaki Ahmed Ripon, Advocate Abdur Rakib Montu, Khandaker Hasan Munir, Amir Hossain Bahar, Mahmudul Hasan Rana, Mohiuddin Ahmed Mohi, Mazharul Islam, Abdul Ghaffer, Lt Colonel (Retd) Md Nazrul Islam, Kamrunnahar Hiru, SM Newaz Sohag, Habibur Rahman, Siraj Uddin Md Alamgir, SM Mortaza Rashidi Dara, Shamim Matin Chowdhury, Firoza Karim Nelly, Mosharraf Hossain Mollah and Shah Alam Sardar.