Poor show in South Asian athletics reflects deeper problems

Bangladesh's disappointing results at the recently concluded 4th South Asian Senior Athletics Championships only highlight the long-standing decline of the country's athletics.

Bangladesh finished fourth among six nations at the meet in Ranchi, securing just three bronze medals -- all from relay events: the men's 4x100m, men's 4x400m, and women's 4x400m.

A total of 19 athletes, including eight women, represented Bangladesh in 19 of the 36 events during the three-day competition. Hosts India dominated the table with 20 gold, 20 silver and 18 bronze medals, followed by Sri Lanka with 16 gold, 14 silver and 10 bronze medals.

Even Nepal finished ahead of Bangladesh with two silver and four bronze medals -- five of which came from individual events. This stands in stark contrast to earlier years when Bangladeshi athletes regularly achieved respectable results at South Asian competitions.

Adding to the frustration, most Bangladeshi athletes produced below-par timings, with none managing to achieve a personal best, despite being in training since July for next year's South Asian Games in Pakistan.

"We performed really poorly, and it was very tough to compete in an international tournament within a seven-day gap after giving our best in the Inter-Service Athletics Championships from 12–16 October," said Mohammad Ismail of Bangladesh Navy, who finished sixth in the 100m sprint with a time of 10.83 seconds -- 0.41 seconds behind the bronze medallist.

Of the 11 male participants, 10 had competed in the inter-service championships shortly before the international event. There were no inter-service events for the female athletes.

"There's no excuse for our poor performance, but the travel time and night-time scheduling might have affected us since we're not used to competing under floodlights," said Najimul Hossain Rony of Bangladesh Army, who narrowly missed out on a bronze medal in the 400m hurdles after finishing in the same time -- 51.06 seconds -- as India's Karna Bag, who won bronze following a photo finish.

Ismail attributed the team's failure to the lack of planning and inadequate facilities, though he expressed some hope for improvement before the upcoming SA Games.

"There's no proper planning in the training camp. The athletes stay at the NSC dormitory for SA Games preparation, but we have to walk a long way three times a day for meals," he said. "The federation doesn't want to spend a single penny on the athletes -- how can we bear the costs from our small salaries?"

Questions have also been raised about team selection. The country's best high-jumper, Mahfuzur Rahman, was dropped, while Golam Sorowar was left out of the shot put -- an event in which the Sri Lankan bronze medallist managed 14.68m, compared to Sorowar's national record of 15.97m.

It was also revealed that 200m sprinters were made to compete in the 4x400m relay as the federation had sent only four relay specialists.

"What needed to be done to achieve good results simply wasn't done," said national coach Abdullah Hel Kafi. "We don't have training facilities, modern equipment, proper planning or a suitable environment."