Sports can play vital role to make people to people relation: Momen

Sk Kamal Memorial SAARC Snooker kicks off

Bangladesh keeps an eye on the current situation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state of Assam, India.

Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen, MP came up with the comment on Sunday while he was speaking as the chief guest during the inaugural ceremony of the Sheikh Kamal Memorial First SAARC Snooker Championship at the Samson H Chowdhury Hall of the Dhaka Club Limited yesterday.

Dr Momen also said India has committed to Bangladesh that the NRC of Assam will not put any impact on Bangladesh and those who have been dropped from the NRC are not the citizens of Bangladesh.

The minister expressed his optimism that the mindset of tolerance in people in SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) will be bolstered through the sport.

“There is violence across nations in the world. Such kind of sporting event will play a pivotal role in strengthening people to people relations, irrespective of caste, culture and religion,” said Abdul Momen.

“The game, snooker and billiard, was initially promoted by British soldiers especially army officers in this subcontinent. This game is a little bit expensive. It is good that the bulk of the SAARC countries are taking part in the tournament,” he said.

“People to people relations are important. In 1971, all the people including doctors, teachers, journalists, businesspeople, supported us to achieve our independence. Currently, the relation among the countries in SAARC is not good. So, people to people relation is important here. Sports are important tools to establish relations. Through this game, the mindset of tolerance in people in SAARC will be strengthened further. One day, I think, we can eliminate all the setbacks and establish people to people relation,” he added.

Dr Momen said that he is happy to see the name of the tournament after the name of the Sheikh Kamal, eldest son of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Later he inaugurated the six-day-long tournament at the Billiard centre of the Samson H Chowdhury Hall of the Dhaka Club Limited in the presence of the players, organisers, officials.  

Dhaka Club president Khairul Majid Mahmud was present as guest of honour. Dhaka Club member-in-charge Dr Mohammad Zahirul Islam, Bangladesh Billiard and Snooker Federation secretary (BBSF) Syed Mahboob and Tournament Director A Ibrahim Kazu, among others were also present.

 “It was a dream of me to organize such type of tournament in Bangladesh. We are now going to host the tournament. I’m happy to see it,” BBSF secretary said.

“We want to make its continuation. Already we’ve got a huge response from the SAARC areas. Hopefully we could arrange it to some extent,” Dr Zahirul Islam said.

Guests were greeted with code pin of Dhaka Club and flower bouquet. Dhaka Club president later handed over a crest of Dhaka Club to foreign minister.

All the participating teams-India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal already arrived here in Dhaka to play in the tournament.

Sponsored by Beximco, the mega sporting event will continue till September 6. Salman F. Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, will be the chief guest in the closing ceremony of the event. Impact PR is the media partner of the tournament.

Bangladesh has earned the right to field four players as the host nation and two players each from four other participating countries will compete in the tournament. So, a total of 12 players divided into four groups are playing in the international sporting event. The top two players from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals. The champion of the tournament would receive a cash prize of USD 2,500 and the runner-up will get USD 1,500, while the two losing semi- finalists will earn USD 500 each. In addition, the player who will do the maximum breaks (50+) will get USD 500 as prize.

Sports can play vital role to make people to people relation: Momen

Sk Kamal Memorial SAARC Snooker kicks off

Bangladesh keeps an eye on the current situation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state of Assam, India. Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen, MP came up with the comment on Sunday while he was speaking as the chief guest during the inaugural ceremony of the Sheikh Kamal Memorial First SAARC Snooker Championship at the Samson H Chowdhury Hall of the Dhaka Club Limited yesterday. Dr Momen also said India has committed to Bangladesh that the NRC of Assam will not put any impact on Bangladesh and those who have been dropped from the NRC are not the citizens of Bangladesh. The minister expressed his optimism that the mindset of tolerance in people in SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) will be bolstered through the sport. There is violence across nations in the world. Such kind of sporting event will play a pivotal role in strengthening people to people relations, irrespective of caste, culture and religion, said Abdul Momen. The game, snooker and billiard, was initially promoted by British soldiers especially army officers in this subcontinent. This game is a little bit expensive. It is good that the bulk of the SAARC countries are taking part in the tournament, he said. People to people relations are important. In 1971, all the people including doctors, teachers, journalists, businesspeople, supported us to achieve our independence. Currently, the relation among the countries in SAARC is not good. So, people to people relation is important here. Sports are important tools to establish relations. Through this game, the mindset of tolerance in people in SAARC will be strengthened further. One day, I think, we can eliminate all the setbacks and establish people to people relation, he added. Dr Momen said that he is happy to see the name of the tournament after the name of the Sheikh Kamal, eldest son of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Later he inaugurated the six-day-long tournament at the Billiard centre of the Samson H Chowdhury Hall of the Dhaka Club Limited in the presence of the players, organisers, officials. Dhaka Club president Khairul Majid Mahmud was present as guest of honour. Dhaka Club member-in-charge Dr Mohammad Zahirul Islam, Bangladesh Billiard and Snooker Federation secretary (BBSF) Syed Mahboob and Tournament Director A Ibrahim Kazu, among others were also present. It was a dream of me to organize such type of tournament in Bangladesh. We are now going to host the tournament. Im happy to see it, BBSF secretary said. We want to make its continuation. Already weve got a huge response from the SAARC areas. Hopefully we could arrange it to some extent, Dr Zahirul Islam said. Guests were greeted with code pin of Dhaka Club and flower bouquet. Dhaka Club president later handed over a crest of Dhaka Club to foreign minister. All the participating teams-India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal already arrived here in Dhaka to play in the tournament. Sponsored by Beximco, the mega sporting event will continue till September 6. Salman F. Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, will be the chief guest in the closing ceremony of the event. Impact PR is the media partner of the tournament. Bangladesh has earned the right to field four players as the host nation and two players each from four other participating countries will compete in the tournament. So, a total of 12 players divided into four groups are playing in the international sporting event. The top two players from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals. The champion of the tournament would receive a cash prize of USD 2,500 and the runner-up will get USD 1,500, while the two losing semi- finalists will earn USD 500 each. In addition, the player who will do the maximum breaks (50+) will get USD 500 as prize.