¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·

The final part of Bangladesh contingent for the Paris Olympics 2024 will leave the country tonight, four days after the archery and shooting teams left Bangladesh for Paris on early Friday.

The Games will be held from July 26 to August 11 where five athletes – archer Sagor Islam, shooter Robiul Islam, sprinter Imranur Rahman, and swimmers Samiul Islam Rafi and Sonia Khatun – will be representing Bangladesh.

Bangladesh athletes – 49 of them – have never won a medal in the world’s biggest sports extravaganza since their first appearance in 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

It is unlikely that anything will change this time around as all of the Bangladeshi campaigners vowed only to display their best showing instead of hoping to secure a medal in Paris.

Among the current Bangladesh campaigners, only archer Sagor – who will be the flag bearer for the country in the opening ceremony – managed direct entry to the Games, while the other four received wildcard entries.

Sagor earned his place at the Olympics on June 17 when he advanced into the semi-finals of the men’s recurve individual event of the Final World Qualification Tournament of World Archery held in Antalya, Turkey.

With the feat in Turkey, 18-year-old became the country’s third athlete to qualify directly to the Olympics after archer Ruman Shana in Tokyo Olympics 2020 and golfer Siddikur Rahman in Rio Olympics 2016.

‘I am fully concentrating on my preparation to make this chance count in Paris. It is tough to win a medal in the Olympics. I only can promise to focus on my game as I will have no control on other things on the day,’ Sagor told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·.

Shooter Robiul, who will compete in the men’s 10-metre Air Rifle event, aimed to reach the top eight of the competition in Paris.

Robiul recorded his career best international score of 628 in the Asian Championships in Jakarta in January 2024.

The 25-year-old shooter improved his scoring to 630-631 points while the training and was hoping to replicate it in the Olympics.

‘My target is to reach the top eight. If I can score 630-plus points, I think it is possible to end in the top eight in the Olympics,’ said Robiul.

Sagor and Robiul along with four officials – two each from the Bangladesh Archery Federation and the Bangladesh Sports Shooting Federation – left the country on Friday.

The country’s fastest man – Imranur Rahman – will fly from England with his coach and physio while swimmer Rafi will fly from Thailand to join the Bangladesh contingent in Paris before the Games’ opening ceremony.

The 31-year-old Imranur, clocked his career-best timing of 10.01 seconds in the heats of the men’s 100-metre event of the fifth Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkey in August 2022, and targeted achieving a new personal best in Paris.

‘My target is to perform at my best. Reaching a new personal best would be a great accomplishment. Finishing in 10 seconds would be a remarkable achievement and make a significant impact,’ said Imranur.

Rafi will be competing in the men’s 100 metre freestyle event with his eye on improving his timing.  

‘I am far behind (in terms of timing) to make any mark. I should not think about winning a medal. My ultimate target is to finish within 52 seconds whereas, I will need to finish within 47-48 seconds to reach the semi-finals at the Olympics,’ said the 20-year-old swimmer.

The only female athlete of the Bangladesh contingent – swimmer Sonia, who will compete in the women’s 50-metre freestyle event in the Games – will leave the country on Monday night with two officials of the Bangladesh Swimming Federation.

‘It’s Impossible to fight for a medal at the Olympics from my position. Now I can only try my best to improve my timing. I will try to finish within 30 seconds,’ said the 24-year old swimmer.

Sonia clocked 30.11 seconds in electronic timing - her international best in the 50-metre freestyle event in the in the latest Asian Games in China in 2023.