Mezbah Ahmed continued to exceed expectations on the track as the Bangladesh Navy athlete became the fastest man in the Walton 12th National Summer Athletics Championship following his triumph in the 100m sprint at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
A false start from Shamsun Nahar Chumki and the absence of Nazmun Nahar Beauty made the path of becoming the fastest women easy for Navy’s Shirin Akter as the two-day tournament concluded yesterday.
It was the third consecutive time that Mezbah, who finished second in the 200m sprint on Sunday, won the 100m sprint national event and the first time in Bangladesh’s history. The Navy athlete clocked his personal best 10.43s to complete the run. He beat his teammate and friend Kazi Shah Imran who took 10.84s to finish second while Shariful Islam of Bangladesh Army ended behind him with 10.85s.
In the 8th Bangladesh Games last year, Mezbah emerged as the king of the track by clocking 10.75s. The Navy sprinter retained the glory in the national athletics in the same year and recorded his former personal best 10.50s.
“I was relaxed from the beginning and knew nobody here could catch me,” said the lad from Bagerhat. He added, “This is the third consecutive time I became the fastest man. Nobody has ever achieved the feat before as I know so the delight is double. I hope I can carry this form in the upcoming events.”
In the women’s 100m sprint, Shirin, who also clinched the 200m sprint on the opening day, took 12.24s to touch the finishing line while Sumita Ghosh of Bnagladesh Army (12.94s) and Borsha Khatun of Chittagong district (13.37s) finished second and third respectively. Shirin also won gold in the 100m and 200m sprint in the national athletics last year.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Navy became the champions of the summer events with 15 gold, nine silver and five bronze while Bangladesh Army and BJMC were placed second and third respectively.
Secretary general of Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) distributed the prizes among the winners as chief guest.
