Chasing the seemingly impossible dream of winning gold in the Olympics, the young gymnasts of the Quantum Cosmo School and College in Lama, Bandarban have made a huge splash in the inaugural Youth Gymnastics Championship that concluded at the National Sports Council gymnasium yesterday.

Quantum Cosmo, an institute for underprivileged students which runs on donation, emerged champion in both men's and women's sections of the Youth Gymnastics Championship, where the top Under-18 level gymnasts from across the country competed.

This triumph came fresh on the back of their incredible medal haul in the 5th National Age-Group Gymnastics Championship last month, where they bagged 96 out of the 120 medals, which included 41 gold medals.

But gymnasts from the remote school are not satisfied by just establishing their superiority at the national level as they have set their sights at the grandest stage of them all.

"We were all set a target to win gold in the Olympic Games and we are chasing that dream by preparing ourselves in practice and by participating in the national championships," national gymnast and Quantum Cosmo's very own Menton Toni Mro, who bagged two gold medals in floor and pommel horse events and two silver medals in parallel bar and ring, told The Daily Star yesterday.

Though Quantum Cosmo started its journey in 2001, gymnastics was introduced in the institute in 2012. Now it has around 100 gymnasts, however, it is running without a permanent coach.

"We don't have a permanent coach since Masud sir, who was appointed by the Bangladesh Gymnastic Federation, left the job in 2022. He had joined us in 2019," said Mong Ching Pro Tripura, another national gymnast from Quantum Cosmo, who grabbed four gold medals in parallel bar, high bar, ring and vault events as well as a won silver in pommel horse.

Rashedul Islam is now training the gymnasts after participating in a couple of workshops on gymnastic coaching while former students Remond Tripura and Kishor Kumar Khisa are also working to groom the young gymnasts in an indoor facility built by the institute using some old equipment provided by the gymnastics federation.

"The major reason behind our success is meditation, which helps the students realise their target. Our students are doing two meditation sessions per day along with training and studies. Besides, the students have been assigned the target of winning a gold medal in the Olympics," said Rashedul.

Asked how they could realise this dream without proper facilities and high profile coaches, Rashedul said, "We all carry the key inside us, which is visualisation. If one can truly visualise it, one day he would reach the destination and we believe Bangladesh will win its first gold medal from the Olympics through gymnastics."