Importing Chinese expertise

It’s a do-or-die situation for Bangladeshi wushu athletes who missed out on winning gold medals at the 2016 South Asian Games.

Looking to avoid the same fate at next year’s Games, the Bangladesh Wushu Association has turned to China for expert help.

In collaboration with the Chinese embassy in Dhaka, the association has organized advanced training for 40 select male and female athletes who have previously struck gold for Bangladesh in local and foreign competitions.

As part of the special program, advanced high altitude training is helping athletes recover from injuries in the run up to the next South Asian Games, to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal, in March.

Eti Islam, a member of the the Bangladesh Army, has been practicing wushu for about 10 years and won a gold medal in the 11th South Asian Games in Dhaka.

She is now ready to go the extra mile to win another gold at Kathmandu.

“I am preparing myself to win the gold medal for Bangladesh again at the South Asian Games next year,” said Islam, who has acquired more skills under her Chinese coaches, who are key figures in the ongoing training.

Mao Nongxuan, a martial arts teacher at Xi’an Physical Education University, is coaching the Bangladesh trainees.

“The trainees like martial arts and sanda very much, and although their level is relatively low, the physical condition of the students is very good,” said Mao.

“I believe the participants are very likely to win gold medals in the South Asian Games after a long training period.”

Another Chinese coach, Chen Jian, is martial arts instructor at Wuhan Sports University.

“I have been engaged in martial arts for more than 30 years, and the trainees in Bangladesh are very enthusiastic about training,” he said.

“I engage and interact very well with the students, so I am very passionate when training. The goal of this program is to position them to break through as gold medalists in the South Asian Games and achieve better results at the Asian Games.”

The Chinese masters, along with local coaches, have been preparing the players in a two-month program that began on July 25.

“I’m so glad to receive this training from our Chinese masters. I hope we can learn more wushu skills from them,” said trainee Noor Banu Aktar.

Another of the selected athletes, Fahmida Tabassum, who has practiced wushu since 2013, said the Chinese coaches’ training methods are excellent.

“If could have more Chinese coaches we could really do very well,” said Tabassum.

Mohammad Shariful Islam, a member of the Bangladesh Wushu Association, has expressed hope that the training under the Chinese experts will boost morale and help Bangladesh better prepare for the South Asian Games.

“We will try our best to win gold medals at the 13th South Asian Games,” he said.

Mohammad Dulal Hossain, joint secretary of Bangladesh Wushu Association, expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government and the Chinese embassy in Dhaka.

“They are very good coaches ... we’ve already noticed that,” he said. “Our practitioners are also very pleased with their training methods.”

Alamgir Shah Bhuiyan, general secretary of Bangladesh Wushu Association, an approved body of Bangladesh’s National Sports Council, said the special training held at Bangladesh’s National Indoor Stadium in Dhaka is designed to maximize success at future competitions.

“We’ll try our best to bring two more Chinese masters to conduct another training course for our best athletes,” he said.

PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY The Yushu World Rafting Plateau Championship, which ended in Yushu prefecture, Qinghai province, on Sunday, attracted more than 150 participants representing 23 teams from 17 countries and regions. At 4,500m above sea level, the prefecture is located in the uppermost part of the basins of three of Asia’s great rivers — the Yellow, the Yangtze and the Lancang. Yushu hosted the 2016 Rafting World Cup, the first rafting World Cup held more than 4,000m above sea level.