Dhaka – Five Bangladeshi athletes, including a woman, left the capital for India on Thursday to take part in the 35th Indian National Junior (U-20) Athletics Championships’2019 scheduled for November 2-6 at Acharya Nagarjuna University in Andhra Pradesh. The athletes are Mahfuzur Rahman, Zahir Raihan, Saiful Islam Khan, Rakibul Islam of Bangladesh Navy, and Umme Hafsa Rumki of Bangladesh Jail (Prison Directorate).
The Bangladeshi athletes will participate in the Indian meet under the banner of Dhaka Team to prepare themselves for the ensuing South Asian Games, General Secretary of Bangladesh Athletics Federation (BAF) Advocate Abdur Rakib Montu told UNB on Thursday.
“We are bearing partial expenses of the athletes while Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Jail are sponsoring the air tickets of their respective athletes,” Montufurther said.
Among them, four athletes- Mahfuzur Rahman, Saiful Islam Khan, Zahir Raihan and Umme Hafsa Rumki will represent Bangladesh in the upcoming South Asian (SA) Games scheduled to be held in Nepal from December 1-10.
In the last National Summer Athletics Competition’2019, UmmeHafsaRumki created a new national record in the women’s high jump, jumping 1.68 metres to improvethe previous record of 1.66 metres while MahfuzurRahmanset a new national mark in the men’s high jump,jumping 2.15 metres.
ZahirRaihan clinched the gold medal in men’s 400-m run, Saiful Islam in the men’s 200-m sprint and Rakibul Islam in men’s 800-m run in the summer meet.UNB
