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9th SAF Games

Very little expectation

Sports Reporter
The 9th South Asian Federation (SAF) Games the subcontinent's biggest sporting extravaganza, is knocking at the door but things don't look very encouraging for the Bangladesh contingent.
The Games rick off in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on March 29 and will run till April 7. The biennial meet has already been deferred twice from its original schedule in 2001. Hosts Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan and newcomers Afghanistan make up the participating countries.
Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) has decided to send a 138-member team to compete in 13 out of 15 disciplines football, volleyball, shooting, swimming, Athletics, weightlifting, wrestling, karate, kabaddi, boxing, badminton, table tennis and taekondo, but most team managers could not
promise anything good during a press conference yesterday at the National Sporting Council (NSC)'s conference room.
The BOA arranged the media conference where officials of all the participating disciplines attended. But only Bangladesh Weightlifting Federation general secretary Wing Commander (retd) Mohiuddin Ahmed expressed his firm determination of winning a gold medal.
"There is a bright chance in the 62kg category because Hamidul Islam of Bangladesh Army finished seventh in the Asian Games and the Asian Championship. The Indians and Pakistanis were far behind him," said Mohiuddin.
More than Taka 4 crore has been spent on the preparation of the athletes and weightlifting apart, there is limited possibility of medals in shooting and swimming. But the whole country will be anxiously keeping an eye on the fortunes of the football team who defend the
regional crown they won in the last edition in Nepal in 1999. However hope and reality are two different things.
"It is everybody’s desire to see Bangladesh lift the football gold especially since we are the defending champions. But there's hardly any realistic prospect of that happening this time because our traln-inghas beenfartoo ofinadequaxe," said Chef de Mission Muyeed Chowdhury.
Midfielder Monwar Hossain is the only surviving member of the class' of '99 and will carry the Bangladesh flag during the march past of the opening ceremony. For the first time, football will be an under 23 event in conformity with the Olympic Games. Only three over-aged players will be allowed.
Football and shooting were the only disciplines where Bangladesh secured gold medals in the Nepal SAF Games.
FROM PAGE 13
The footballers, shooters and swimmers will fly off to Pakistan on March 22 while the rest of the squads go on March 27.
When the flight plans were being discussed, an untoward exchange between Muyeed Chowdhury and a reporter of a Bangla daily occurred. Chowdhury was asked the reason behind the athletes travelling by Pakistan
International Airline (PIA) when they could have easily availed the national flag carrier Bangladesh Biman at the same expenditure.
Chowdhury, a former bureaucrat and advisor of the last caretaker government lost his temper and harshly told the newsman to sit down. The chef de mission later expressed his regret when other journalists present protested the unbecomingoutburst.