Swimmer Sonia Khatun will take part in the Paris Olympic 2024 on wildcard. The girl from Jhenidah said her target would be to beat her previous timing and make a new record there. She further added that she knows how much she had practised and what could be achieved with it. When asked about her chances of playing in the final round or for medals, the swimmer of Bangladesh Navy replied with a smiling face, saying she will have to be practical as she has limitations. DM Simanto of the Daily Sun talked to the swimmer on many other things. Here are the excerpts:

Daily Sun: You are going to the Paris Olympic 2024 on wildcard. It is your first participation. What will be your goal there?

Sonia Khatun: Every player has a dream. I also have a dream, but I know how much I have practised and what can be achieved with it. My target is to beat my previous best timing of this event (women’s 50m freestyle) and make a new record (timing).    

Daily Sun: What is your best timing now?

Sonia Khatun: 30.11 sec is my electronic timing (electronic timer) and 29.45 sec in my hand timing (hand timer). I made it (30.11 sec in electronic timer) in the 50m (freestyle) of the Asian Games last year.

Daily Sun: Don’t you want medal or to reach final?

Sonia Khatun: I have a lot of wishes, Olympic medal is one of those (laugh). But we will have to be practical, we have our limitations. It is not possible for me to qualify for the final because they (opponents) have better timing than me, I’m far behind of them.

Daily Sun: Were you confident enough to get the wildcard?    

Sonia Khatun: Yes, I was confident because I took part in the previous World Championship held in Qatar last February. I earned some FINA points. I competed in two events there – women’s 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly. I took 30.90 sec in the 50m event there.

Another thing is, the swimming (Bangladesh Swimming Federation- BSF) always gets two wildcards (for the Olympics)- one for male and another for female. It has also increased my possibility.

Daily Sun: Why it’s you… not others (about the wildcard)?

Sonia Khatun: I deserved it, so they gave it to me. I’ve been swimming for the last 10 to 15 years, a lot of Olympics took place between this time frame, but I got the wildcard for the first time. They gave the wildcards to the best swimmer of those time, this time I was the best option.  

Daily Sun: Do you have any extra pressure?

Sonia Khatun: Not like that, just want to achieve my target. And of course, I’m excited as it is my first Olympic.  

Daily Sun: Have you talked with other Olympians?

Sonia Khatun: Of course, I’ve learnt about the Olympics and what happens there from my seniors. They gave me a lot of tips, they told me to be careful before the starting, because if we start before the whistle, we will be disqualified.

Daily Sun: What about your preparation?

Sonia Khatun: Coaches (of the national camp) are taking care of my gym sessions, fitness works, swimming and other exercises. The federation (BSF), Bangladesh Olympic Association-BOA, Bangladesh Navy is always inquiring after me. I’ve been preparing for the Olympics before Eid, have been training for more than one month at the Navy camp. The federation and Navy told me to start taking preparation as my name was given in the shortlist of the expected wildcard holder. There were some other swimmers in the list, they told that one of us will get the wildcard. So, we started our preparation since then.  

The diet is good, I’ve no objection. If I need anything else, I tell the coaches and they manage it. I think the swimmers get the best diet and nutrition in comparison of other athletes. I’m not comparing with other countries, the comparison is with our other athletes.  

Daily Sun:  If we have all the good things, then why don’t we have any medals in the international competitions?

Daily Sun: I didn’t say we have all the good things. We have a lot of weaknesses such as we don’t do the long-term camp, we can’t do camp during the winter as we have some issue arranging warm water. Also, we don’t have any indoor swimming pool, so we can’t continue our practice during the natural disaster. Our equipment is not updated. We have to depend on the federation or our agencies for the updated equipment as those are very costly. And of course, the scholarship, I think they should give two scholarships – one for male and one for female.

I will not talk about coaching as I’ve no such experience to make a comparison between our coaching and foreign coaching. But when I took part in the international events, I got to see one participant working with one coach and one physio. But it is not possible here, one coach works with many swimmers at the same time.

Daily Sun:  What about your family?

Sonia Khatun: They know the Olympics is a big event, the dream event of an athlete. They are happy.

Daily Sun: Why did you choose swimming?

Sonia Khatun: There was swimming club beside my house in Jhenidah, I used to go there. My parents allowed me to go there as I was very young. Then, I participated in the BKSP’s telnet hunt program and got selected. They called my father and told him to send me in BKSP. My father knew about BKSP, so he sent me here (in BKSP).