PHOTO: PMO

ANISUR RAHMAN

The announcement was made, the amount was electronically disbursed instantaneously, and the proof of the transaction was on their phones via text message from their banks, still, the country’s top athletes were in disbelief, pinching themselves and wondering whether it was reality or a dream.

Yesterday, 129 athletes from 21 disciplines, who have been initially selected in the newly launched Sports Card and monthly allowance programme, received Tk 1,00,000 each during the inauguration ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s office in Tejgaon.

For years, athletes from different disciplines who represent Bangladesh internationally have demanded to be included in a salary structure from the government, but their appeals seemingly always fell on deaf ears.

Sportsmen who were used to getting let down time and again from the government were hence in disbelief with such swift execution of this long-standing demand by the current government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

“In my 17-year career as an athlete, I have never seen such an athlete-friendly policy before. I did not even imagine that I would get such a big amount as a monthly salary,” five-time fastest man in Bangladesh sprinter Mohammad Ismail told The Daily Star after attending the inauguration ceremony.

“To be honest, this seems like the goose that lays golden eggs. Because this is an incredible amount for an athlete in the context of Bangladesh.

“We had heard that national athletes would come under a pay structure after the formation of the BNP government. We expected that the government would implement it in its second or third year and the amount would be around Tk 20 or 30 thousand. Receiving Tk 1,00,000 surprised us all.”

Asia Cup gold-winning archer Abdur Rahman Alif was also pleasantly surprised by the amount of the monthly allowance.

“Firstly, I want to thank the prime minister and sports minister for taking such initiative. Tk 1,00,000 is a really big amount in Bangladeshi perspective,” Alif told The Daily Star.

“Apart from playing, athletes usually think of alternative sources of income to run their family. From now on, athletes can manage everything with this salary and concentrate more on his performance,” he added.

Paddler Javed Ahmed felt that this initiative will encourage more to take up sports as a profession and that it “will change the country’s sports in the coming days.”

A total of 500 athletes will come under this salary structure, and the complete list is expected to be released by the first week of April.

The listed athletes will undergo a review every four months, after which changes could be made according to performance.

The athletes felt this would increase competition between them and drive them to improve their performance.

“The announcement of monthly salary has boosted the athletes. Those who are not in the list are eager to come under the pay structure. So, I have to uplift my standard to keep receiving a monthly salary,” said sprinter Ismail.

Shuttler Al Amin said, “This initiative will encourage the juniors to knock us out to secure a place in the national team while it is our responsibility to keep our positions intact.”

Although the players unanimously accepted that this was a step in the right direction, they felt that in order to achieve continued success at the global stage, the government also needs to ensure better training facilities, quality coaches and implement sports technology.