‘We only participate for the sake of it’

A three-member weightlifting team accompanied by a coach and two officials made their way to South Korea to take part in the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023 in Jinju on May 3 and made their way back on May 13 empty-handed and in the same manner that they had left; without a fuss.

The championships offered participants an opportunity to qualify for the Paris Olympics in 2024, but that held little significance for Bangladesh's weightlifters, spearheaded by 2016 South Asian Games gold medallist Mabia Akter.

She said it seemed that they had made the trip just for the sake of it, citing the lack of preparation and planning ahead of such major events.

"They (Bangladesh Weightlifting Federation) send us to such events just for the sake of it. We have no real preparation and there is no vision heading into these events," Mabia told The Daily Star on Saturday.

Mabia competed in the women's 64kg category while Ashikur Rahman Taj competed in the men's 55kg and Smrity Aktar in the women's 55kg events. Mabia finished sixth after lifting 96kg, her highest in the competition, in the third round. But it was well off the 118 kilos hoisted by Ganzorig Annuiin of Mongolia as she took home gold.

However, more important than the results is the lack of planning and preparation, which players often have to whip up on their own to take part in such competitions.

Mabia discussed feelings of inferiority that Bangladesh's weightlifters experience when they arrive for major competitions and brush shoulders with athletes who have years of preparation and planning to fuel their ambitions and goals while Mabia and Co. often lack the basics like diet and nutrition, gym facilities and proper coaching.

"We feel ashamed to be there because we know, when it comes to preparations for such a stage, we are inferior compared to other athletes," she said.

Mabia also revealed that training camps ahead of competitions were mere formalities, arranged loosely for just a few days. According to Mabia, the athletes tend to plan long-term if success in championships is in mind.

"We are just there for the sake of it. We have no proper diet, gym, or coaching. When we ask the federation for change, they come up with the same excuse: lack of funds. If there are no funds, then what's the point of sending us to such events with almost no preparation?" she said.

"If you look at athletes from India, you would see a large number of people who are invested in preparing athletes for a championship. Those athletes have two-three year plans," she added.

With no real vision nor hope, the federation continues to send these athletes into war with wooden guns. The demands of modern-day sport, particularly in a physical one such as weightlifting, are at an all-time high but the status quo of maintaining outdated and short-sighted methods simply to make up the numbers remains with no real initiative in sight.