The year 1990 emerged as a dawn of a new era in Bangladesh's sports history when the first medal arrived at the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand. A bronze was soon followed by the elusive gold, courtesy of shooters Abdus Sattar Nini and Ateequr Rahman. The latter had marched on to accumulate further glory in the SAFF Games of 1993 and 1995, bagging multiple gold medal triumphs. The Daily Star's Sabbir Hossain managed to catch up with the legendary shooter during an interview, the excerpts of which are given below:

The Daily Star (DS): Could you describe the feeling of winning the first gold medal?

Ateequr Rahman (AR): I had won many medals at the national level before 1990. During that time, I had set a target to win a medal outside Bangladesh. There was such determination inside! In 1990, I participated in the Auckland Commonwealth Games, which was my first competition abroad. I can't express the feeling of seeing our flag flying high outside the country. The memory still gives me goosebumps.

DS: Following that feat, why hasn't it become a common phenomenon?

AR: When we played, we were given the latest quality equipment. That is not the case for present shooters. Most of them don't have proper and enough international level ammunition to train for longer periods.

DS: What's your take on the present situation?

AR: The standard of shooting has gone up around the world. Unfortunately, we are walking backwards. We are lagging by the margin of around ten per cent when it comes to international standards.

DS: Has lack of funds always been an issue?

AR: The money allocated for shooting by the government is not enough at all, with the price of equipment increasing day by day. Our neighbouring country India has excelled in recent years because its government keeps providing a huge budget. Besides, we can't import ammunition regularly, due to many complexities, even after acquiring permission.

DS: How would you suggest extracting the best possible result, and with consistency?

AR: The federation (BSSF) needs to make a long-term plan regarding any event. You cannot just choose someone suddenly before an event, which we have seen on many occasions.