Our Local Sports

Sheikh Iraj

There is no doubt that cricket and football are the most popular sports in our country nowadays. Due to our fascination with these games, we tend to ignore some of our own traditional sports, like kho kho, kabaddi, wrestling, boat racing, carom and kite flying. Many youths these days do not even know much about these local sports, which were once popular in every school playground or village playing field across the country.  

“I grew up in the capital. I have never heard of a sport named kho kho,” said M Abdullah Mamun, a student of Mirpur Bangla College.

Mamun is not the only one, many other youths have very little idea about some of our traditional sports. It is also true that many of these local sports do not get much media exposure, unless they are played on international stages. This week, Y&I spoke with some players and officials of traditional sports to find out about their experiences, challenges, achievements and future plans.   

Kabaddi

Kabaddi is officially our national sport, and it is more popular in the rural areas.

Zakir Hossain, 32, is the vice captain of the National Men’s Kabaddi team. “At the moment, we are preparing ourselves for the 2018 Asian Games,” he said. Hossain hopes to play in the upcoming Pro Kabaddi League in India and he has already been approached by a team there.

Imran Rahman, an office assistant at the National Kabaddi Federation, told Y&I: “Premier Division Kabaddi League, First Division Kabaddi League and Second Division Kabaddi League will be organised soon in Dhaka. In August, we have plans to organise Youth Kabaddi Championships, where teams from the districts will be able to participate. After that, National Kabaddi Championships will be organised.”  However, we are yet to have a professional kabaddi league in Bangladesh, mostly due to lack of sponsors.                 

The Kabaddi Federation receives Taka 13 lakh (1.3 million) annually from the government, but it spends over a crore (10 million) to organise different tournaments throughout the year. The federation does not have its own website.

Kho Kho

Bangladesh Kho Kho Federation started its journey in 1995. “Kho kho is a combination of kabaddi and ha-du-du. It takes a lot of stamina to play this sport. After the age of 24-25, it becomes quite hard to compete in this sport. Some world renowned cricket players like Sachin Tendulkar and Ajay Jadeja used to play this sport to build up their strength,” said Faizul Rahman, general secretary of Bangladesh Kho Kho Federation.

“We have selected 800 players from around the country with the help of upazila sports councils. At the moment, the Kho Kho Federation does not have any permanent practice ground. We have asked for a place from the National Sports Council, but are yet to receive any positive feedback from them,” Rahman added. Different kho kho tournaments, like Boishakhi, Independence Day and school competitions are organised on a regular basis.

Faizul Rahman, who has been associated with different sports for the past 46 years, feels that the media has a large role to play to make this particular sport more accepted among the youth. “Most of our players are very young. But we are not able to give them the full support they need to develop. The Physical Education College has a subject on kho kho. In the 2015 South Asian Games, we won silver but that news didn’t get much coverage in the media. Twenty countries in the world play this sport, and yet many people do not know about it. We receive Tk 5 lakh (500,000) annually from the government. We do not have councillorship of Bangladesh Olympic Association. That is why we are not able to go on foreign tours, except to India,” he said.

 After Eid, the federation planned to call their selected players to come and join in practice sessions. The federation used to have a website, but at the moment it is inactive.

Wrestling

In Chittagong, ‘boli khela’, a form of traditional wrestling, is quite popular. Thanks to mainstream media and social networking sites, this traditional wrestling is known to many youths. In Dhaka, there used to be several practice facilities for wrestlers.

Mesha Uddin, general secretary of the Bangladesh Amateur Wrestling Federation, told Y&I: “It is true that besides a few particular wrestling tournaments, the media do not cover other wrestling events. Right now, our boys and girls are practising for the 5th Indo Asian and Martial Arts Games, which is going to take place in September this year. We are also sending two national wrestlers to Turkmenistan to participate in a tournament. This year, we received an invitation from Iran Wrestling Federation, but we could go due to shortage of time. After Eid, we will resume our practice.”

“We receive Taka 6 to 7 lakh (600,000-700,000) per year from the government, but we spend more than Tk 10 lakh (1 million) per year. We arrange the money from different sponsors,” Mesha Uddin added.

Shemin Sultana, 27, is a professional wrestler who plays for Bangladesh Amateur Wrestling Federation. “I started doing wrestling to learn self-defence when I was 19 years old. Today, many girls are coming into this sport. In the Junior National Championships, wrestlers from 42 districts take part.”

“Looking at me, people often do not believe that I am a professional wrestler. Our federation has asked me to take part in the tournament in Turkmenistan, and I am thinking about participating in the competition,” Sultana added.

Boat Racing

There are two types of boat racing in our country. One is our traditional country boat race, and the other is international rowing. In 1974, five boat racing enthusiasts went to India to learn more about the sport, and when they returned home, they formed the Bangladesh Rowing Federation. The federation never really showed much interest towards international rowing until 2013, said M Monirul Alam, vice president of Bangladesh Rowing Club.

“Now, we organise the National Boat Race in the Buriganga River. We also organise a race at Hatirjheel in Dhaka. The National Sports Council grants Tk 5 lakh (500,000) every year to the Bangladesh Rowing Federation,” Alam added.  

Amirul Islam Mithu, a national team rower, said: “I come from Barisal. I always had a deep interest in boat racing. Nowadays, we practise indoor rowing at the National Hockey Stadium. We are preparing for the upcoming Asian Rowing Championships, which is going to take place in September.”

Carrom

Bangladesh Carrom Federation was established in 1992, said Ashraf Ahmed, general secretary of Bangladesh Carrom Federation.

“We select carrom players based on their ranking. We organise different tournaments during various national holidays and special occasions. For example, we have the Liberation Day Carrom tournament, Summer Heat Carrom tournament, etc,” he said.

Ahmed believes the media has a big role in making this game more popular among the youth. In two months’ time, the federation plans to organise a Dhaka-based interschool carrom tournament.

“We get only Tk 4.5 to 5 lakh (450,000 to 500,000) from the government. Nobody wants to sponsor carrom tournaments and that’s a huge problem. In world carrom rating, Bangladesh holds the 3rd position. The world’s 7th best carrom player is a Bangladeshi. Right now, we are preparing our players for the upcoming Carrom World Championship in Korea. Interested carrom fans can visit www.icfcarrom.com to know more about world and Bangladesh carrom federations. We don’t have an active website,” said Ahmed, who is also treasurer of International Carrom Federation.

Kite Flying

Bangladesh Kite Federation started its journey in 2000, said M Shahjahan Mridha Benu, general secretary of the federation.

“I went to China some 30 years ago and as I was walking, suddenly a bird flying in the air caught my eye. After some time, I realised it was not a bird, but a bird-shaped kite. That was the moment I decided to do something with kites. Every year at Cox’s Bazar we organise the National Kite Festival. It normally takes place in the second week of January,” said Benu.

“We have different kite flying categories for children and women. We also have an open category where participants showcase different types of designed kites. Three years back, we won in the World Kite Festival, which takes places every year in China. Anyone can become a member of our federation by filling up a form and paying Tk 100. But they have to be passionate about flying kites. I have seen 64 countries participate in the World Kite Festival in China,” he said.

“We receive Tk 196,000 from the government every year. We spend more money than that and we give that from our own pockets. Also, I have to mention that the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka has sponsored us many times. To know more about Bangladesh Kite Federation, one can visit our website bkf.com.bd,” Benu added.

Photos: Courtesy, File