BSS, Dhaka :
Newly elected President of Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed has expressed his determination to take the country’s sports to new heights with the cooperation of all.
He spoke to reporters after an introductory session with members of the newly-elected committee at the BOA Bhaban here on Moday.
The BOA president said at the outset, “It is a great privilege to be given this responsibility on the auspicious occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Independence of Bangladesh and the Birth Centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. And for that I consider myself lucky. I am especially grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for placing her trust in me. I will try to repay the trust she has placed in me.”
“I just took over today. I discussed with all those who are with me, the executive committee. After getting introduced with them, I saw that all the members of this committee are experts in their respective fields. We have set a simple goal by utilizing their combined skills. Which aims to do better than before. Inshallah, with the cooperation of all of you, we will be able to do better than before. ‘
Expressing his determination to give some visible outputs in the future, the BOA President said, “Our aim will be to give some visible outputs. Bangladesh have done better in the Olympic than before and because of this we have got good results in various sports.”
In response to a question, he said, “The visible thing is that the way we are doing well in cricket, we want to do same in football, I want to say, for example, that Brazil invests in football but not so much in cricket. We will invest more in all the potential areas. We are aiming at different games, aiming at the Olympic so that we can increase the number of medals. That will be our primary goal. The point is, we want to achieve something.
He went on to saying: “You have done well in many disciplines but have not been able to increase the number of medals. Then it will be difficult to judge the good you have done. We are focusing on which events can increase our medal tally. ‘ Regarding taking charge, the BOA president said, “I only took the charge. At our first introductory meeting we agreed that an executive committee meeting should be held very soon. There will be an action plan. Then I can give you a clear picture of how we can achieve better than before.”
In response to another question about the Olympic Village, the BOA President said, “If it is a visible project, we will definitely take it forward. I don’t know yet, I heard it from you for the first time. All I can say is that I have experience playing both first division football and cricket. I was involved in many indoor and outdoor sports starting from Cadet College. I’m a sports enthusiastic. My focus will always here here, I will try my best.”
