Amla: A swimmers’ village without a swimming pool
Amla is a small and tranquil village, akin to many other villages in the country, situated twenty-two kilometres away from the south-western Kushtia district.
The place is, however, not unfamiliar to those who happen to follow Bangladesh swimming as the village is known as a 'Sataru village' (the village of swimmers).
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. It's quite incredible how this village kept producing numerous swimmers for the last 35 years -- who have earned fame in both national and international levels, and especially taking into account the successes which materialised without any modern facilities, or any proper ones for that matter.
From Rubel Rana, the gold medallist in the 2004 SAFF Games, to Bangladesh swimming's new crown Jewel Ahmed to country's famous swimmer Sabura Khatun, their swimming venture originated from this remote village.
"Under the banner of Kushtia DSA (District Sports Association), the swimmers from Amla first participated in the national junior swimming championships in 1987 and Shahjalal won a bronze and that was the lone success. Afterwards, many swimmers from here achieved laurels. The journey is still ongoing but the most pathetic fact is the swimmers here keep practicing in available water bodies," said Amirul.
Thus invariably, when it comes to any national competition, the swimmers from Amla always make the headlines.
But what makes it possible for the swimmers in this famous village to shine amid the non-existent infra-structure?
In 2017, a swimming pool was established in Kushtia town and unfortunately it lies almost unused.
Amirul Islam, who initiated the swimming training at Amla around 1985 with 10-12 learners, projected the bleak scenario surrounding Amla.
"Under the banner of Kushtia DSA (District Sports Association), the swimmers from Amla first participated in the national junior swimming championships in 1987 and Shahjalal won a bronze and that was the lone success. Afterwards, many swimmers from here achieved laurels. The journey is still ongoing but the most pathetic fact is the swimmers here keep practicing in available water bodies," said Amirul.
''The first pond I used to train the swimmers is no longer in existence. The pond at the Amla Govt College we used was also filled up. I'm training the budding swimmers at a BADC pond, which is two kilometres away from Amla, while one of my former students named Kamal is also preparing another group of swimmers at GK project canal, which also happens to be one-and-half kilometre away from our village.
"One information is enough to help you understand what kind of boys and girls train here, that they have no financial ability to visit Kushtia to avail the training facilities there by spending Tk 100," Amirul continued.
"Some six to seven thousand boys and girls trained here so far and went on to participate in domestic competitions. Meanwhile, at least twenty-five swimmers took part in different international competitions and grabbed the medals from gold to bronze but here we are, still crying and pleading for optimum facilities for so long," said the dejected former swimmer, who failed to make his career successful as a swimmer but his dream somehow came true through his students.
Despite all hurdles, the swimming took a great stride in this village because of the interest of local people, who have continued to encourage their boys and girls to become swimmers to this very day.
"They [locals] are my great inspiration and without their enthusiasm we cannot run it here," said Amirul.
Amirul further informed about six to seven more clubs that are toiling hard to produce good swimmers and apart from Amirul, coaches like Kamal Hossain, Morjina Khatun, Emdadul Haque and Anwar Hossain are tirelessly involved in coaching in canals or abandoned ponds in Amla.
But why do people of this locality encourage their children to take swimming as a profession? Is it all about passion or do other factors exist?
Many consider the sustained success of swimmers here at national and international level has inspired others to take swimming as a profession.
"There is the issue of making a career through swimming. Here people are not well off and they know success in swimming can bring a job for their boy or girl in service teams," said Amirul, who is currently a coach of Bangladesh Ansar-VDP swimming team.
"Many teenagers from this area are doing well at the national and international level as well as being engaged in good jobs in the swimming teams of Army, Navy, Ansar-VDP and Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC). For this reason, many parents remain enthusiastic regarding swimming," he added.
"There is a job issue behind our desire to become a swimmer. And it's one of the reasons I want to take up swimming as a career," said an aspirant swimmer Amal Hussain, a secondary school student.
"If you know how to swim well, there is a possibility of getting a good job at a very young age. That's why I wanted to encourage my 14-year-old girl in swimming," said Harunur Rashid Askari, a parent of a swimmer.
The participation of the girls is another key facet of this village's remarkable journey in swimming.
Morjina Khatun, who has already gained fame in swimming and a coach at present, said: "Many female swimmers are contributing at the national and international level by taking swimming training in adverse conditions here. Therefore, it will be good to have a swimming pool in Amla."
Another renowned swimmer Sabura Khatun, who has won more than a hundred medals in swimming, said: "If there was patronage, extraordinary success stories would have been created from here."
Sabura is currently working in Bangladesh Army as a coach. On the other hand, Babita Khatun and Chameli Akhtar are serving in Ansar-VDP after showing achievements in swimming while Najma Khatun, Seema Khatun, Subarna Khatun and Lucky Akter are serving in the Navy. And upon seeing their accomplishments, dreamy-eyed girls and young women are also venturing into the sport.
Devoid of facilities, Amla had always stood on a slippery slope and conditions there have inevitably declined.
"The time has changed and you have to provide minimum facilities if you want to produce quality swimmers. Once known as a good hub of swimmers, the number of participants in recent years is far from encouraging," said Amirul, who once served as the joint general secretary of the Bangladesh Swimming Federation.
"True we have young talent like Amy Akhter and Mukta Akhter who hogged the spotlight in the junior levels but still the overall picture is gloomy considering the glorious past."
From young swimmers to the coaches, everybody was crying for public or private initiatives to build on their successes.
The only good news for swimmers in Amla so far is that they are going to get a 50-meter pool with some facilities in their locality.
"One day our Mirpur upazila chairman Kamarul Areefin told me that he once heard the name of Amla of Kushtia regularly but now-a-days we hear the name of Kishoreganj in swimming." informed Amirul.
"In reply, I told him the locals of Kishoreganj are helping their budding swimmers to groom up but here you are the only person who is going to help us by building up a 50-meter pool at the Amla High School premises. I promised him that we would regain our glory in junior swimming competitions within the next two years. To be honest, no one except the chairman of Mirpur upazila is taking care of Amla swimmers."
From Sabura Khatun to the young swimmers, everybody holds the opinion that without modern facilities, one cannot excel in national competition or international events these days. Hence the patronage from private and government authorities is a must.
Despite the gloom, Amirul remains an extremely optimistic man and sees the silver lining. "You know, swimming has entered into the psyche of the local people. From here it is possible to build a better generation of swimmers if a swimming pool with better facilities can be built."
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