The inter-upazila (first) phase of Sheikh Kamal 2nd Bangladesh Youth Games (U-17), organised by Bangladesh Olympic Association, will begin today.
The event for the country’s emerging athletes was named after Shaheed Sheikh Kamal, the eldest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and younger brother of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The inter-upazila phase will continue until January 10, followed by the inter-district (second) phase on January 16-22. The final phase will be held on February 26 to March 4 in Dhaka.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the chief patron of the competition, is expected to inaugurate the final phase as the chief guest on February 26 at the Bangladesh Army Stadium in the capital.
A total of 198 events in 24 sports disciplines – seven teams, and 17 individual disciplines – will be held in the competition, offering a total of 1419 medals – 429 gold, 429 silver, and 561 bronze.
All males and females under the age of 17 will be eligible to compete and will be able to enter eight disciplines— two teams and six individual events—as the organisers hope to find sports talent through this competition.
The disciplines are -- archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, chess, football, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, kabaddi, karate, rugby, shooting, swimming, cycling, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, wushu and Squash.
