Bangladesh swimmer Samiul Islam Rafi has set his goal at finishing the men鈥檚 100-metre freestyle event with 52 seconds at the forthcoming Paris Olympics scheduled to be held in the French capital from July 26 to August 11.
Rafi has been undergoing training under the World Aquatics scholarship at the Taniapura Sports and Health Resort in Phuket, Thailand since December 2023.
He has been working around seven hours a day with an eye to improve his timing at the Olympics.
Despite working hard for the last eight months, Samiul does not expect much apart from his best efforts in the games as he is looking forward to enjoying the opportunity.
鈥楶articipating in the Olympics is actually a great thing for any athlete. I am overwhelmingly happy for having the chance to participate but I should not have high expectations,鈥� Rafi told 抖阴精品.聽聽
The 20-year-old swimmer could not even think about reaching the semi-finals in his event as he believed that one has to finish within 47-48 seconds to qualify, whereas his current best timing is 53.12 seconds.
鈥業 am far behind [in terms of timing] to make a mark. I should not think about winning a medal. My ultimate target is to finish within 52 seconds whereas you need to finish within 47 to 48 seconds toreach the semi-finals at the Olympics,鈥� said Samiul.
A corporal of Bangladesh Navy 鈥� Samiul 鈥� the only son of a widow from Rajbari lost his father in a road accident when he was just eight-month-old in 2004.
He believes that his improved timings in recent competitions helped him get the wildcard entry.
The national champion in 100-metre freestyle was confident about entering the Olympics through a wildcard after becoming the best male swimmer in the latest National Swimming Championships by recording the best FINA timing among Bangladeshi swimmers.
He also set a new record in the 50-metre backstroke, finishing in 27.38 seconds, eclipsing the previous record of 28.12 seconds set by Jewel Ahmed in the 31st national championships.
鈥業 have had better timings in competitions than in practice. I finish around 54 seconds during practice in 100-metre freestyle, the event in which I will compete in the Olympics but my best timing of 53.01 seconds,鈥� Rafi added.
Rafi was first noticed by the Bangladesh Swimming Federation in 2016 when they conducted a talent hunt program across the country.
Then, he participated in a three-month-long camp under the federation鈥檚 management in Mirpur but then dropped out when the federation picked up 60 swimmers for further training for three years.
He got his chance to return the national fold after he emerged as the sub-regional champion in the Summer Inter-School Swimming Championship in Dhaka.
The Inter-School Swimming Championship success helped Rafi to get the job at Bangladesh Navy as a corporal in 2022, becoming the helping hand to his mother, who sacrificed the most for Rafi鈥檚 success.
鈥業 was overwhelmingly happy when I heard the news of my entry to the Olympics and made the first call to my mother, who sacrificed the most for me,鈥� an emotional Rafi said.
