The Beijing Olympics and Bangladesh

Ahmed Khaled RashidbrTHE curtain fell on the Beijing Olympics 2008 on August 24 last. By and large, the biggest sporting spectacle is acclaimed to be an immense success. Despite the many doubts about timely preparations, adequacy of the sporting venues and facilities, concerns for air quality and the threats of boycotts, the Chinese government and the Olympic authorities did a commendable job in successfully holding the sporting event. Hosts China has also proved to be the dominant nation in the Olympics with a gold tally of 51 and total medal count of 100, overtaking USA as the sporting giant in the world arena.brBangladesh should take inspiration from the Chinese excellence both in organisation of the event as well the sporting brilliance. The six-member Bangladesh team participated in swimming, shooting, and track and fields. The results were expectedly not up to the mark. It would be unfair to be critical on our athletes knowing full well the relatively mediocre standards they have achieved at national and South Asian levels. Taking the cue from China, Bangladesh should also have a long- and medium-term strategic approach to developing capacities to building successful and competitive athletes. Long-term perspectives in planning and implementation are required to nurture talents from an early age in order to develop the required skills. brIt was amazing to hear the commentators narrating the stories of Chinese divers, gymnasts, or table tennis players who started the sports at the age of five or even earlier. They followed strict regimented life-styles sometimes in military-style secluded conditions. Years of hard work were evident in their faces of the winning sportsmen and women. Similar approaches can be adopted by Bangladesh sporting authorities under the auspices of Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP). Thoughts can also be given to setting up BKSP institutions at the divisional level. A variety of sports must be popularized starting from the schools level. It should not be only cricket! Development initiatives must not be concentrated at Dhaka but rather be decentralized to district and upazila level.brOne of the significant features of China's good results in this Olympics was the success in several traditionally non-Chinese sporting categories, such as fencing and boxing. The Bangladeshi sporting authorities must carefully assess what non-traditional sports, having good potentials for the country, can be promoted. Pools of trainers must be developed and, if necessary, sent to China or other countries to acquire the necessary skills and training techniques. The private sector should come forward for sponsorship of sports other than cricket and football. brBangladesh has an advantage in having a very high percentage of young people. The youths of our country must be engaged in sports and games at an early stage to harness their talents, which have also social benefits -- encouraging them to stay away from social evils such as drugs and crimes. Let us look forward to incremental gains in the Olympics in London 2012 and 2016 (venue to be decided in 2009), leading towards a more fruitful performance in the subsequent Olympics. It was exhilarating to see the sportsmen and women of various countries pushing themselves to the limit of human possibilities, bringing pride and glory for their respective nations. When will we see our sportsmen take on the podium in the Olympic arena and bring laurels to our proud nation brThe writer is Research and Communication Officer in the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh. He can be reached at ahmedkrashid@yahoo.com