Nat'l Athletics Championship to be dedicated to Bangabandhu

BAF sports calendars 2020 to begin on Jan 16

FE Team | Published: January 11, 2020 20:47:14

The 43rd National Athletics Championship 2020 scheduled to begin on January 16 at the MA Aziz Stadium in the port city of Chattogram will be dedicated to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman marking his birth centenary, reports UNB.
Bangladesh Athletics Federation (BAF) will start their sports calendar 2020 with the competition from January 16 to 18 at the MA Aziz Stadium in the port city.
The three-day national athletics meet is being organised by Bangladesh Athletics Federation (BAF) and is sponsored by Chattogram City Corporation (CCC)
Some 500 leading male and female athletes from 64 districts, universities, education boards, BKSP, BJMC and services teams will participate in 36 events.
A budget of Tk 2.7 million (27 lakh) has been earmarked for the meet, where the meet's sponsor Chattogram City Corporation will provide Tk 2.5 millin (25 lakh) while rest of the amount will borne by the federation.
BAF Vice-President Md Faruqul Islam disclosed this at a pre-event press conference at the conference room of Bangabandhu National Stadium in the city on Saturday.
BAF General Secretary Advocate Abdur Rakib Montu and CCC representative cum Additional General Secretary of Chattogram Jela Krira Sangstha (CJKS) Syed Shahab Uddin Shamim were also present on the occasion.
"National Athletics Championship is going to be held outside Dhaka after 14 years and the port city Chattogram is going to host it for the fifth time, hopefully it'll help us to find out athletes from grassroots level," Faruqul Islam said.
General Secretary Advocate Abdur Rakib Montu said the ensuing National Athletics Championship competition will be dedicated to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman marking his birth centenary.
"We are dedicating our year's inaugural athletics competition to the Father of the Nation marking his birth centenary. We have also several plans to celebrate the "Mujib Borsho".
We will arrange a national level competition, a division-wise marathon race and a seven-nation Bangabandhu SAFF Junior (Under-20) International Athletics Competition in November this year," said Montu.
"The track and field of the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) presently is not up to the mark and almost unplayable. State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Hasan Russell MP promised us to renovate the stadium within the middle of this year. We also proposed a budget of Tk 120 million (12 crore) to celebrate the Mujib Borsho," Montu added.