Koly condemns federation’s action against fellow shooters

Bangladesh shooting has been rocked by controversy after national shooter Kamrun Nahar Koly publicly criticised the Bangladesh Shooting Sport Federation (BSSF) over disciplinary action taken against her and several fellow athletes on Wednesday.

In a strongly worded post on social media, Koly alleged that she was not the only shooter to face punishment, naming Sabrina Sultana, Pias Ahmed, Ahad Mirza, Tasmayati Ema, and Ratna as athletes who have also been expelled. She accused the federation of “playing a game of expulsions” and questioned the authority of the current ad hoc committee, which was appointed by the interim government to run the federation until an elected body is formed.

“Not only Kamrun Nahar Koli, but Sabrina Sultana, Pias Ahmed, Ahad Mirza, Tasmayati Ema, and Ratna Apu have all been expelled. Our Shooting Federation is playing an expulsion-expulsion game. The interesting thing is that Sabrina Apu is our shooting’s golden girl, and she has been declared unwanted for life,” she wrote on her Facebook post.

"The interim government formed an ad hoc committee and gave them the authority to manage the Shooting Federation until an elected government comes, but they are considering this authority as absolute power and have expelled so many big players. Who gave them this right?? They are not an elected committee; they are an ad hoc committee for a temporary period—so where did they get so much power?? Who is fueling them with such audacity?" Koly also dropped a question.

Koly expressed shock over the reported lifetime expulsion of Sabrina Sultana, widely regarded as one of Bangladesh’s most successful female shooters, describing the decision as unjust and disproportionate. She questioned how a temporary, non-elected committee could make decisions with permanent consequences.

Earlier, on 1 January, the BSSF temporarily suspended Koly and served her a show-cause notice. Although she submitted a response, the federation deemed it unsatisfactory. The executive committee later imposed a one-year ban, finalised at a meeting on 2 February, citing alleged violations of seven clauses of the national training camp’s code of conduct.

In an official letter, the federation accused Koly of displaying “indecent, threatening and aggressive behaviour” towards the general secretary, executive committee members, officials and staff during an incident at the federation office on 25 January, claiming it took place in the presence of police and harmed the institution’s discipline and reputation.

The issue has attracted wider attention as Koly had previously raised allegations of corruption and irregularities within the federation and publicly accused former joint secretary GM Haider Sazzad of sexual harassment. While several shooters had spoken out alongside her, disciplinary measures so far have largely centred on Koly, deepening tensions within the country’s shooting community.