The first all-female floor hockey team in Austria's Special Olympics to win gold happened to be from Bangladesh.
The team was made up of teenage girls, including 16-year-old Ruma Khanom, Asked if she was surprised her team was able to stand up to bigger and stronger all-male teams, including the Iranians, who were in some cases taller by a foot or more and twice as heavy, Khanom offered the universal "Nah," in reply.
The Special Olympics has helped ease boundaries known to Bangladeshi women and filled the gap for Khanom and her teammates even further by choosing a national male and female team to train together, reported ESPN.
After 3 hours, 9 minutes of play -- three nine-minute regulation periods and a Special Olympics-record 18 overtimes -- officials called the 0-0 game a draw in the interest of the safety and health of its participants and awarded both Bangladesh and their male opponents from Iran the gold medal in their unified division.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been a supporter of the Special Olympics since its inception in 1993.
“Special Olympics is able to break the barriers," said Rahman Mohammad Hutizur, director of the Bangladesh Healthy Athletes program.
To call the World Games a wonderful opportunity for the Bangladesh team is selling it short.
The prime minister will hold a reception for the gold-medal winning women and their silver-medal winning male compatriots, who lost to Uganda on an adjoining court just minutes after the women's game concluded.
Friday, March 21, 2025
