Archery's new battle to reclaim lost glory

Archery has been one of Bangladesh's greatest hopes for medals on the international sporting stage. But in recent times, the sport had lost some of its shine as expected results failed to materialise. Now, the newly formed ad-hoc committee of the Bangladesh Archery Federation has taken on the tough challenge of reclaiming the lost glory.

As the first major international step in this rebuilding process, the “2026 WAA President's Challenge Cup and Joint Training Programme” is set to be held from 30 July to 2 August at Archery Training Academy in Tongi where alongside training, Bangladesh will assess their preparation ahead of the Asian Games in Japan this coming September.

The joint training programme, running for nearly 20 years, has previously been held in Bangladesh three times in 2018, 2019, and 2021. And alongside it, the World Asian Archery President's Challenge Cup will be hosted in the country for the very first time.

At a press conference on Sunday, Kazi Razib Uddin Ahmed Chapal, president of the federation's ad-hoc committee as well as the World Archery Asia (WAA), laid out their new vision.

"We have fallen behind a little in recent times," he said. "But it is precisely to recover from that, that we are organising this kind of event. There may have been changes in management, but I have never tried to be traditional. I always try to bring something new. Those who fell behind are our own colleagues, our own companions. We cannot move forward by tarnishing their reputation. So we are quietly trying to figure out how to make up for it."

Archers from 17 countries will participate directly, including Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Singapore, Bhutan, China, India, and Jordan, while a total of 114 representatives from 26 countries, including officials, will be in attendance.

German coach Martin Frederick will serve as head coach for the programme, with Korean coach Yong Suk Park Sally as his deputy. A total of 70 archers will compete under their guidance.

Bangladesh has announced a strong 10-member squad for the upcoming event. Of the eight archers in the team, four are from the under-18 category - Imtiaz Amin Fatemi Fuad, Saiful Islam, Sayma Salahuddin, and Sonali Roy. Experienced campaigners Ramkrishna Saha, Abdur Rahman Alif, Sima Akter, and Nasrin Akter will also feature in the host team.

On the initiative of hosting such an international programme, Frederick said, "Working with other countries is extremely important. There will be some training matches against players of similar level. Even though it is brief, just four days, it is still wonderful."

The event will be held with financial support of nearly USD44,000 from WAA, and sponsorship from local brands.