Despite being the only athlete among 30 participants from 10 disciplines to win a medal in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, shooter Abdullah Hel Baki is yet to receive any reward from the government as well as the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) for his achievement.
The 24-year old shooter from Gazipur claimed a silver medal in the men’s 10m air-rifle event on August 25 to give Bangladesh their only medal in the 20th Commonwealth Games.
The Bangladesh Shooting Federation, however, informed that they will afford a grand reception to Baki for his achievement on Saturday.
Following a poor display in the Games, the BOA took an eye-catching decision to exclude nine disciplines from the upcoming 17th Asian Games which will be held in Incheon, South Korea next month.
Only shooting managed to avoid the cut due to Baki but the BOA has not yet announced any reward for the silver medallist even though prior to the Games the federation declared to award Tk1m, Tk700,000 and Tk500,000 for the gold, silver and bronze medal winner respectively.
“The government has not yet announced anything so far but I hope they will announce an award before the Asiad. This kind of appreciation will encourage the athletes like me to perform better,” said Baki yesterday.
The BOA, however, has no plans to reward Baki anytime soon, at least not before the Asian Games.
“We do not have any plans to give an award to Baki, at least not now, because we are very busy with the preparation of the Asian Games. We will think about the matter after the Asian Games,” said BOA secretary general Syed Shahed Reza.
