Hurdler Roni disappoints; BAF looks to Jamaica, Pakistan for coaches

Hurdler Najimul Hossain Roni finished third from last in the heats of the 400m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Japan yesterday, as the Bangladesh Athletics Federation (BAF) continues discussions to recruit sprint and hurdles coaches from either Jamaica or the Bahamas.

Roni, who set a national record in the 400m hurdles in February with a time of 50.84 seconds, was well off his personal best in the World Championships, clocking 52.47 seconds. The Bangladesh Army athlete finished ahead of only two competitors -- from Macao and Saint Kitts and Nevis -- and placed 42nd out of 44 participants overall.

A total of 24 athletes qualified for the semifinals, with Slovenian hurdler Matic Ian Guček claiming the final spot with a time of 48.92 seconds -- 3.55 seconds faster than Roni.

Meanwhile, BAF president Major General (retd) Nayeem Ashfaque Chowdhury and general secretary Shah Alam attended the 55th Congress of the World Athletics Federation before the championships began on Saturday.

Read more

Rony balances pride and regret on world stage

"Our president spoke to the presidents of the athletics federations of Jamaica, the Bahamas, China, and Pakistan in a bid to appoint two coaches -- one for sprints and hurdles, and another for throwing events -- ahead of the South Asian Games. However, everything will be finalised after financial negotiations," BAF Joint Secretary Kitab Ali told The Daily Star on Monday.

"One Jamaican coach has expressed interest in coming to Bangladesh along with one athlete, but we are still negotiating the financial terms," Kitab added. "We are also considering bringing in a throwing coach from Pakistan. Syed Fiaz Hussain Bokhari, coach of Pakistan's Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, has shown interest in working with us."

Meanwhile, BAF has finalised a 20-member squad for the upcoming South Asian Senior Athletics Championships, scheduled to be held from October 22 to 27 in India. The final entries were sent to the organisers last Wednesday.