BANGLADESH sent its teams to nine Olympic disciplines but it is yet to win a medal in any event. This is rather unfortunate. It is more unfortunate because we can see no noticeable efforts from the sports authorities of the country for promotion of track and field events in the country. Many of the much smaller and less developed countries have been winning Olympic medals and we still remain as mere onlookers in successive Olympic Games.
I do not believe that we have a dearth of talents in our country. What we need is to identify the unknown talents and nurture them. There is need for developing infrastructure for training. Winning medals in events like the Olympics will not only help brighten our image abroad, it will also help boost the level of confidence in ourselves and lead us to achieve many more successes in national and international arena. We have already achieved a lot in cricket and have already beaten all the frontline teams of the cricketing world. There is no reason why we should not be able to produce world class athletes, golfers, shooters or gymnasts. I would like to request the country's sports ministry to draw a long-term plan keeping in mind the Olympic games. If we set ourselves a goal, we shall be able to stretch our talents beyond cricket.
Mohammed Sohel Hara
Bonosree, Dhaka
