Former sprinter and 14-time gold medal winner in national athletics, Mohammad Shah Alam, has been appointed general secretary of the Bangladesh Athletics Federation when the National Sports Council approved the nine federations鈥� ad-hoc committee in November. Alam, who held the position in 2001 and 2010, also coached the national team four times during the South Asian Games in 1984, 1985, 1993, and 1995. Speaking to 抖阴精品鈥檚 Wahid Ullah Bakul, he shared his vision and plans to reshape the country鈥檚 athletics. Here are the excerpts:聽
抖阴精品: After taking the charge, what actions have you taken so far?聽
Shah Alam: In our first executive meeting on December 6, we have decided to host the next national championships in early February (2025) and junior games within the next two months of the national meet. We will hunt some athletes from both meets and prepare them through the national training camp to take part in the international competitions in 2025.聽
NA: What are your short- and long-term plans for the development of athletics?
SA: Our short-term goal is to hold two national championships and at least one junior Games each year while also securing financial backing for regular training programmes. In the long run, we hope to involve grassroots coaches and organisers to scout talent and train them under highly qualified local and foreign coaches.
NA: How much we can expect from our current national athletes?聽聽聽
SA: We will put emphasis on nurturing the junior athletes because we cannot expect much from the seniors, who have already got enough time to show their capabilities at local and international stages. We want some fresh blood in the pipeline.
NA: Past initiatives have failed to produce results, so why will you follow the same path?
SA: Yes, I agree with you. And for that reason we have to rethink to chalk out the needs of changes. If we can ensure some incentives to athletes, like increasing cash rewards or the opportunity of having jobs in different organisations through sports, interest will grow among youths to come into athletics.
NA: This approach is common in Bangladesh, where many sportsmen entered athletics just to get careers in the Army, Navy, and so on. So, why are you talking the same old things?
SA: We need to engage more service-providing organisations to increase this kind of facility. As the number of athletes increases, so will the level of competition. If you want to see our athletes on a higher level, you must promote this process. Otherwise, we have to rely on government assistance.
NA: How many events does the federation run, and how many of those events have the potential to have success at least at the Asian level?
SA: We run 40 events in our national meets. And, I guess, we can expect good results at the Asian level in five to eight events, including high and long jumps.
NA: How would you manage the costs of all the programmes?
SA: Primarily, we will seek government support. But we also need sponsorships from corporate organisations. Without corporate backing, it will be difficult to meet our financial needs.
NA: You were an athlete and know the sporting arena well. Do you think Bangladesh athletics had a good time at all?
SA: You can say that we still are stuck at the regional level, and our quality is still low for the global stage. But definitely we had some good days with better results. You can go through the South Asian Games medals tally. Besides, we won some medals in other international competitions too. So, you cannot deny that we never enjoyed a good time.