‘We are competing in Olympics as token participation’
Swimmer Sonia Khatun, who will represent Bangladesh in the forthcoming Paris Olympics through a wildcard, said she was unhappy with her preparation for the mega event and criticised the prevailing culture in the country's athletics of taking part in the Olympics just to make up the numbers.
"Considering the magnitude of the Paris Olympics, my preparation is not good enough," Sonia told The Daily Star on the eve of her departure to Paris on July 20.
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"I have been training at the BKSP for the last two months whereas other swimmers across the world began their preparation for the Paris Olympic Games right after the Tokyo Olympics," she added.
The 25-year-old swimmer feels that there is no point in Bangladesh continuing to send athletes for the Olympics if the federations and other relevant sports bodies do not invest in athletes and aim to win medals.
"We are taking part in the Olympics as token participation. We feel really sad when we produce poor timings and don't win any medals. I think we should not participate in the Olympics just for the sake of it.
"If we want to develop our sports, we need to undertake proper planning and also require strong financial backing. We should set a goal and then design the training and other related things to achieve it."
In the last nine editions, since the 1988 Sydney Olympics, Bangladesh have always participated in the swimming discipline in the Games through wildcards, but haven't achieved anything of note.
Sonia, the national record holder in 100m butterfly event, is set to become the fourth female swimmer after Doli Akter, Sonia Akter and Junayna Ahmed to represent Bangladesh in the Olympics.
The Bangladesh Navy swimmer will compete in the 50m freestyle event, where her current best timing is 30.11 seconds, which she set during the Hangzhou Asian Games in China last year.
The Bangladesh Navy swimmer spoke how competing in the Olympics will be a dream come true for her but her underwhelming preparation for the biggest sports extravaganza in the world has somewhat dampened her enthusiasm.
"Of course, like all other athletes, I always dreamed of competing at the Olympics. Despite this lack of preparation, I am optimistic about giving my best and surpassing my previous best timing,".
Sonia, whose journey in swimming began in 2013 after getting admitted at the BKSP, prefers butterfly and freestyle events but will have to compete in the 50m freestyle event in Paris, in which Bangladesh's three-time Olympian Doli Akter (30.72 and 30.23 seconds), Sonia Akter (29.99 seconds) and Junayna Ahmed (29.78) had competed in the past.
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