Nurturing sports talent pays dividends

Sports and games are no forte of this nation. On the global stage, the country's presence in this area is conspicuous either by its absence or unenviable performance. The country's participants in such meets are encouraged by the hackneyed mantra, 'winning is not all, participation matters". Damn your participation when decade after decade the country's runners, swimmers, athletes and other sportsmen and sportswomen get ousted from hit or captures the last or near last positions. Even in the team games such as cricket, football and hockey, the graph is nose-diving fast. The Incheon Asian Games, 2014, held recently, bears testimony to this.

Against this background, the Bangladesh under-16 women's team has shown its prowess. In the first game it beat the strong Jordanian team by a solitary goal. Nothing could be more auspicious than beating a team of higher ranking than the host. But in the next game against the United Arab Emirates, the Bangladeshi girls came out with a thumping victory. Surely the two successive wins for the local girls have raised the hope that it may get the ticket for the next round of the AFC Under-16 Women's Championship. The road though proved difficult when the girls lost to India. They also lost to Iran in the final outing but holding their heads high as ever throughout the tournament.

At a time when the nation has hardly any laudatory causes to celebrate in the sports arena, the girls now competing in the U-16 football tournament have at least given an occasion, albeit on a small occasion, to savour and also to be proud of. A girl named Sanjida Akhter has already become a star by scoring a hat-trick against the UAE. Her sterling performance will do a lot of good not only to the country's women's football but also to girls in general. Sports and games are an area where performance speaks and speaks in a resounding manner. Star value added to a sportsman or woman suddenly turns him or her into an iconic figure.

In a country where girls are often looked down upon either as a sex object or as an inferior human species, excellence in sports and games by girls carries special values and sends a sobering message. Imperceptibly, such feats act as an empowerment and girls and women are suddenly looked at differently with respect and esteem.

In this country though, teams or individual performers in sports have either started from the scratch only to raise the bar gradually up to a point where one can say thus far and no further; or started with a bang only to end in a whimper. Imagine what a talent Asif was! Had he been nurtured well, he could bring the ultimate laurel from the Olympic. Second placed to him in Asian championship, Abhinab Bindra from India later on won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympic. Asif started with a bang.

Then cricket had a modest beginning but due to close attention it received under Saber Hossain, the game shot into prominence. Bangladesh earned Test status and in the ODI, it started performing well. But when the cricket team should have grown in stature, it appears it is no longer the team that beat a few of the elite clubs.

This women's team has shown its potential. Under proper care, it surely has a great future. But the apprehension is that the enthusiasm for women's football will die down soon. If it does not do so well, it will no longer be a crowd-puller and fans will forget what it achieved. Nurturing talent is no strong point for sports authorities here in this country. Men's football once showed enough potential to be an Asia-beater. But gradually it has failed to realise its promises. In India too there was a slump in footballing standard. Now they have taken an organised attempt to revive the glory of the most popular game the world over by introducing a new league. A number of foreign players mostly who have passed their hey days and coaches have been hired to raise the standard of the game.

To be in the same league of Asian football, Bangladesh surely have a long way to go. But it will be possible if attention is given to the game for its systematic development. If proper facilities are created for girls, they are likely to earn success quicker than their male counterparts. But the reality is that in this country a domestic league of women's football will not go far. Considering this fact and the earning by women's players, there is little to be optimistic. But the perception can change if the girls can really cause a few upsets and win a medal.