Bangladesh Navy's Golam Sorowar achieved a remarkable throw of 15.50 metres in the shot put event during the 48th National Athletics Championships held at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Monday, setting a new personal best timing.

M Ibrahim of Navy and Abul Hossain Anik of Bangladesh Army finished second and third, clearing 13.84 and 13.74 metres respectively.

Sorowar improved by 0.61 metres in one year since he set a new record by clearing 14.89 metres in the last edition of the competition, held in February 2024.

The relentless training over the past year was key to Sorowar's improvement, with the commando (a highly trained soldier) of the Navy's Special Warfare and Diving Squadron (SWADS) attributing his success to this preparation.

"Since setting the record in the last edition of the national athletics championships, I had been in training at BKSP for nearly 11 months under the guidance of coach Mehedi Sir. I had good training at BKSP because every session, like speed, strength, and others, was really good. I left BKSP just one month before this championship," said Sorowar, who once played cricket as a pace bowler before joining Bangladesh Navy in 2012.

The lad from Jashore said, "It is really a great pleasure for me to set two successive records in the national championships and now I dream of winning an international medal, and I am ready to improve myself as much as possible," said Sorowar, seeking advanced training to realise his dream.

"So far, I know the athlete who won the bronze medal in the last SA Games cleared 15.55 metres, while the gold medal went to the athlete who cleared more than 19 metres.

"I believe in myself; I can produce a medal in the SA Games, but I need advanced training to achieve the medal in the SA Games because my coach Mehedi Sir also believes I can clear 17 metres," said the record holder.

He added, "Two months ago, Mehedi Sir went to China with my video clips and showed them to the coaches there. They suggested that I need to bring some variations into my training as well as change my techniques. Then I can improve further."

The record holder, however, expressed his sorrow over the limited facilities in Bangladesh.

"India and Pakistan are strong in throw events, they have available coaches and facilities, but we can't use the standard shot put. We could not use the standard ground year-round. We just used the standard ground today, but Indian and Pakistani throwers usually get the facilities at the standard ground, while we can't use the standard ground."