Sprinters skip heat to aid Imranur’s cause

Bangladesh sprinters skipped the heat of the 4x100m relay event at the 25th Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday to help Imranur Rahman's cause in today's 100m event.

"After reaching Bangkok, Imranur also suggested that participating in the relay event, a day before his 100m sprint, would not be better for him," the Bangladesh Athletics Federation (BAF) executive, Abu Talha, told The Daily Star.

He further informed that the 100m was "our main focus" in the prestigious quadrennial event and hence the relay team -- comprising Mohammad Ismail, Jahir Raihan, Rakibul Hasan, and Imranur -- "decided to skip the event" so that the latter gets to perform at his best.

The two-time Bangladesh's fastest sprinter, Imranur, who clocked 6.59 seconds to win a 60-meter gold medal at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championship in February this year, will compete in Asian Championships for the first time since the London-based sprinter made his international debut for Bangladesh in early 2021.

Apart from Imranur, Ismail will take part in long jump while Jahir and Rakibul will compete in 200m sprint today.