The long cherished dream of two Bangladeshi athletes to participate in the Olympic Games is set to be fulfilled after they got wild cards from the organizing committee of the Rio Olympic Games beginning in Brazil on August 5.
With the inclusion of Bangladesh’s fastest man Mesbah Ahmed and fastest woman Shirin Akhter in Olympic squad, the number of athletes in Bangladesh’s contingent rose to seven. Both Mesbah and Shirin will compete in the 100-meter sprint competition.
The seven member Bangladesh contingent comprises one golfer, one shooter, on archer, two athletes and two swimmers.
Celebrated golfer Siddikur Rahman is the lone Bangladeshi athlete to have qualified for Rio directly and will carry the Bangladesh flag in the Games’ opening ceremony.
Swimmer Mahfizur Rahman Sagar will compete in the 50 meter freestyle and breaststroke, and Sonia Akhter Tumpa will be in the women’s 50 meter butterfly swimming. Shooter Abdullah Hel Baki will feature in the 10-meter air rifles while archer Shyamoli Roy in the recurve division.
The first batch of Bangladesh contingent with chef de mission Lt Gen (Retd) Abu Tayub Mohammd Zahirul Alam will leave here for Brazil on July 31.
