Bangladesh swimmer Sonia Khatun will be the only female athlete from Bangladesh participating in the Paris Olympics – which will be held from July 26 to August 11 – and she is hoping to improve her timing in the women’s 50-metre freestyle event.
Sonia clocked 30.11 seconds – her international best – in the 50-metre freestyle event in the latest Asian Games in China in 2023, which helped her to get a wildcard entry at the Olympics.
She won a gold medal in the women’s 50-metre freestyle event clocking 29.45 seconds – her best at the domestic stage – in the national championships in 2022.
The -24-year-old started to pursue a swimming career with the full supports of her parents – businessman Rafiqul Islam and housewife Jesmin Begum – at the Jhenaidah Purbanchal Swimming Club at the age of 11.
She was then admitted to the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan in 2013 and took part in the national swimming championship first as a BKSP student in 2016 before joining the Bangladesh Navy in 2018 and represented the services team first in 2019.
Since her first appearance at the national championships in 2016, Sonia has so far bagged 37 gold medals, including three golds in the 50-metre freestyle event in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Sonia has competed in eight separate events, including women’s freestyle, butterfly, and relay, at the national stage across her career but could not recall how many medals she won in which event.
‘In 50-metre (freestyle), 30.11 seconds in electronic timing is my best that I made in the Asian Games, while I clocked 29.45 seconds in hand timing at the national stage,’ Sonia told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·.
‘So far now, I have won 37 gold medals in separate events at the national meet. I just counted how many gold medals I won, but cannot recall in which event I won how many medals,’ she said.
Sonia, focusing on preparation for the Olympics, has been at the national camp for the last two months, engaged in practice for around five to six hours on the six working days a week at BKSP.
She lamented the lack of electronic timing at the national stage and at the preparation camp.Â
‘We see different results in hand timing and electronic timing. We face difficulties. We compete at the national meet in hand timing while at the international stage there is electronic timing. It would be helpful to calculate if we always competed in electronic timing,’ said Sonia.
She and her family were happy about her participation in the Olympics but rued the short preparation and lack of ability of Bangladesh swimmers.Â
‘It’s Impossible to fight for a medal from my position at the Olympics. My target is to improve my timing and I will give my best efforts to do that. From my position, I only can try my best to improve my timing. I will try to finish within 30 seconds,’ she said about her objective.
‘We all know well about the real situation and our capacity. We get a short time to prepare for the Olympics. In reality, we need an eight to 10-year long preparation to have success at a stage like the Olympics.’
While Sonia feels proud about being the only female athlete to represent Bangladesh in Paris, she would have been happier if there were more female athletes from the country.
‘It’s a joy for me that I am the only female athlete representing Bangladesh at the Olympics. On the other hand, it looks a bit odd that there are no other female athletes in the contingent. If there were more female athletes, I would enjoy the tour more,’ she said.
She has been under the tutelage of four coaches – Mahfuza Khatun Shila, Abdul Hamid, Mahfuzur Rahman Sagor, and Fahmidul Islam – at BKSP but her timing was not near her best timing in the 50-metre freestyle.
‘No, my timing currently is not near my best timing in this event. You know, most of the time swimmers clock better in competitions than they do in practice,’ she said.
