Bangladesh has always been a top contender in global debate tournaments. This year they have finally beaten all the odds to become champions at Asian British Parliamentary (ABP) Debating Championship 2017. Team IBA DU A, consisting of Rawnak Zaheen Wasi and Sajid Khandaker, from Institute of Business Administration (IBA)-University of Dhaka, emerged as the winners and became the first Bangladeshi team to win the ABP Debating Championship.
This year, the tournament took place in Krabi, Thailand from October 01 to October 06. Around 100 teams from 44 different universities and nine different countries participated in this prestigious event. ABP Debating Championship is the most significant debating tournament in Asia that replicates the world debating championship format and is one of the most sought after events among the debaters of Asia. It is hosted by different countries every year.
After six preliminary rounds of debate, top 24 teams qualified for the knockouts. This year, alongside the champion team, another team from Bangladesh consisting of Asif Mehedi and Miraz Murshed Rahman from North South University, qualified for the knockouts and were also the semi-finalists. The top four teams that were in the grand finale were from IBA-University of Dhaka (Bangladesh), Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), International Islamic University (Malaysia) and Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines). This was only the second time a Bangladeshi team had managed to reach the final of this tournament.
Following a brilliant performance, IBA DU A secured the championship and became the first Bangladeshi team to win the ABP Debating Championship. Bangladesh had to wait for five years to get a taste of international championship as the last time they won a major global event was back in 2012 when a team from Brac University won the “English as second language" category in the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC).
Sajid Khandakar, a member of the champion team, said, “I always told myself that to fulfil your dreams, all you need to do is believe. It always feels great to represent Bangladesh in the global stage.” The success at ABP Debating Championship 2017 should boost the morale of every debater in Bangladesh. Another member of the winning team, Rawnak Zaheen Wasi, who was also announced as the best speaker of the final round, tried to uphold Bangladesh's name in debating because he thought there is nothing else quite like debate and better results wait in future.
The writer is a student at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka. He can be reached at nishanrakesh20@gmail.com