Bangladeshi shooters and swimmers Monday concluded a disappointing campaign at the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal, failing to win any gold medals in the 58 events from the two disciplines.
2016 gold-medalist Shakil Ahmed and Ardina Ferdous managed only a bronze in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed team event on the concluding day of shooting events Monday. Two-time Commonwealth Games silver-medalist Abdullah Hel Baki also frustrated with a bronze in the 10m Air Rifle individual event, as well as in the team event alongside Rabbi Hasan Munna and Md Robiul Islam.
The shooters ended the campaign with just four silvers and a couple of bronzes. Previously, Bangladesh had won at least one gold medal in shooting at every edition of the games since the discipline was included in 1991, except in 2006.
The swimmers also failed to live up to the legacies of 1985 five-time gold medalist Mosharraf Hossain Khan and 2016 double gold-medalist Mahfuza Khatun Shila. Shila won her gold medals in the women’s 100m and 50m breaststroke events, but Romana Akter only managed to end in 5th and 6th at this edition.
Ariful Islam, who has been training in France for the last year, came close in the hunt for gold in the men's 50m breaststroke but fell agonizingly short. Jewel Ahmed and Mohammad Noor Alam also won silvers in the 400m medley and 50m backstroke, respectively.
UK-born Bangladeshi expatriate Junayna Ahmed also failed to live up to expectations, winning only four bronzes in her events.
The swimming events concluded in Kathmandu Monday with Jewel Ahmed, Ariful Islam, Nurunnobi Nahid and Asif Reza bagging a silver medal in the men's 4x100 Medley relay. The swimmers have won a total four silvers and nine bronzes.
Following the conclusion of the swimming events, veteran swimmer Mahfuzur Rahman Sagor announced his retirement from the sport.
