Know Our Tokyo Olympians: Junayna Ahmed

Junayna Ahmed is a 18 years old British Bangladeshi freestyle swimmer who was born and raised in London. Her study and swimming both are continuing in the UK. Junayna has a huge passion for 50m freestyle swimming. She participated in the World Swimming Championship as the Bangladeshi athlete. Even though she has some medals in the National Swimming Championship of Bangladesh and her first win came in 2017. It’s worth mentioning that Junayna Ahmed is the first wildcard holder to enter the Tokyo Olympic 2020 Games.

Biography of the Swimmer Junayna Ahmed

• Name – Junayna Ahmed
• Age – 18
• Date of Birth – 30 Jun 2003
• Gender – Female
• Place of Birth – London
• Birth Country – Great Britain
• Place of Residence – London
• Residence Country – Great Britain

Career Info of Junayna Ahmed

• Occupation – Athlete
• Club name – Romford Town Swimming Club (London, GBR)
• Coach – Nivedita Das (National)
• Sporting Start – National age-group swimming in 2016
• Training – French Solidarity Scholarship Program in Rouen
• Ambition – Medalist of the Tokyo Olympic 2020 Games

Records and Achievements of Junayna Ahmed

Junayna Ahmed participated in the 50m freestyle swimming competition of the World Swimming Championship held in Gwangju, Korea. Her best timing was 30.96 seconds. Junayna also attained 200m butterfly swimming while her best timing was 2 minutes 34.95 seconds. At this event she was 32th among 33 participants. Even though Junayna has a record of 2 minutes 34.14 seconds in national competition.

So many medals have been achieved by this 18 years old athlete in the international arena. Junayna achieved bronze medals in women’s 400m individual medley, 800m freestyle and 200m butterfly swimming events in the South Asian Games 2019 held in Nepal.

Junayna’s parents moved to London, England in 2001 from Sunamganj, Bangladesh. Along with Ariful Islam, Junayna Ahmed has been training in the Ruar Club The Fiking Swimming Complex of Rouen, France facilitated by the solidarity scholarship program since 2018.

Know Our Tokyo Olympians: Ariful Islam

Ariful Islam aka Mohammed Ariful Islam is a 22 years old Bangladeshi navy freestyle swimmer. He appeared in the Tokyo Olympic 2020 through wildcard entry. He is the luckiest 50m freestyle swimmer selected by Bangladesh Swimming Federation. Swimming federation nominated Ariful’s name to the International Olympic Committee and FINA via the National Olympic Committee and Bangladesh Olympic Association. It’s mention worthy that MD Ariful Islam is the proud Bangladeshi flag holder of the Tokyo Olympic 2020 tournament.

Biography of the Swimmer Ariful Islam

• Name – Mohammad Ariful Islam
• Age – 22 Years
• Date of Birth – 10 January 1999
• Height – 1.72m
• Weight – 62kg
• Country – Bangladesh

Career Info of Ariful Islam

• Occupation – Armed Forces Athlete
• Club – Bangladesh Navy
• Coach – Mahbubur Rahman (club) & Nivedita Das (national)
• Training – Olympic Solidarity Scholarship Programme training in Rouen, France since 2018
• Award – Flag bearer for Bangladesh at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020
• Sporting Sibling – Brother Shariful Islam, swimmer at national level in Bangladesh

Records and Achievements of MD Ariful Islam

Being a successful Bangladeshi freestyle swimmer, Ariful Islam participated in the 100 meter breaststroke competition at FINA World Championship organized by South Korea. He was able to secure 78th place among 87 in that competitive tournament. His best timing of all time is 24.92 seconds from this swimming championship. Will he be able to overcome this timing in the Tokyo Olympics?

In Bangladeshi National Championship, Ariful Islam is the proud winner of the 10 gold medels. In 2014, he was able to perform 100m breaststroke at 1 minute 7 second timing. Now he can make it within 1 minute 2 seconds though he is trying hard to achieve 59 seconds timing in 100m breaststroke. Now Ariful Islam is pretty much confident to break his previous record 24.92 seconds for 50m freestyle swimming at Tokyo Olympics.

To prepare himself for the Tokyo Olympic Games, he trained for 2 years in the Ruar Club The Fiking Swimming Complex of Rouen, France facilitated by the solidarity scholarship program.

Know Our Tokyo Olympians: Abdullah Hel Baki

After a delay of one year due to a raging pandemic, the biggest sports competition in the world has finally commenced. The Tokyo Olympics 2020 has started and Bangladesh has sent her best athletes and performers to the Olympics. We will be looking into the six participants representing Bangladesh at Tokyo Olympics. Today, we will be looking at a veteran of shooting and an olympian who has graced the stage once before. We will be looking at a flag bearer, Abdullah Hel Baki.

Personal Information

Abdullah Hel Baki, is in true form a veteran among Bangladeshi shooters. Born on August 1, 1989 in Gazipur, Abdullah Hel Baki has always had his sights on sports. He works in the Bangladesh Navy and also competes in shooting competitions all around the world. He also had his sights set on sports even in his education. He earned a degree in sports studies from the Uttara University in Dhaka.

In Shooting

Like the focused shooter, he also set his goals pretty early. He has been practicing shooting since 2006 and has been participating in competitions, local and global, since 2008. He is a left eye and right hand orthadox shooter. He cites Indian shooter Gagan Narang as his sporting hero. His event of choice is the 10m Air Rifle.

Accomplishments

He has had quite a career in the 10m air rifle event throughout his career. He won the event in the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku in 2017. Baki is a regular participant in international competitions. His participation and ranking in International competitions include:

• Rio Olympics 2016 (25th)
• Asian Games 2018, Indonesia (19th)
• 2010 World Cup, Munich (32nd)

Baki has been the flag bearer for Bangladesh in previous events. These include the Commonwealth Games in 2018 in Australia and the Asian Games in 2014 in South Korea. As a veteran and experienced shooter Abdullah Hel Baki stands among the best shooters of Bangladesh.

He lists winning the World Championship and representing Bangladesh in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as his dream. Baki has certainly achieved the latter. Let us cheer for Abdullah Hel Baki and the other Olympians as they hold the Bangladeshi flag high in the Tokyo olympics.

Know Our Tokyo Olympians: Jahir Rayhan

The Olympics are back! After an extended wait, the Tokyo Olympics 2020 has now finally commenced. Amid the global pandemic, watching athletes put forth their best to represent their nations boosts our will in these uncertain times. Bangladesh is also sending their champions to represent the country in arguably the biggest sports competition in the World! We will take a look at the athletes representing Bangladesh at the Tokyo Olympics. Today the spotlight will be on the track athlete, Mohammad Jahir Rayhan.

Personal Information

Mohammad Jahir Rayhan is among the youngest of the six participants in the Tokyo Olympics. He was born in April 2001 in Sherpur Bangladesh. His craze about sports has been apparent from his early age. Rayhan states that he was a football fanatic growing up. His parents wanted him to pursue the standard educational route but his passion for sports shone through in the end. On his father’s wishes, he got into athletics. He got admission in the most prestigious Bangladeshi Sports Institute: BKSP and pursued Athletics. He began training as an Athlete in 2012. He studies in Jessore University of Science and Technology currently. His sports team is the Bangladesh Navy Track and Field.

In Track and Field

Rayhan has seen enviable success on the national level in Track and Field. His preferred events are 200m and 400m sprints. He has shown exceptional performance in the 400m. Rayhan recently broke a 32 year record of Athlete Milzar Hossain and now holds the fastest time in the National Level in the 400m sprint. The current record he set is 46.86 seconds. Rayhan has also represented Bangladesh in other International Athletic Competitions. His best time and attended competitions include:

• World Athletic Championships 2019 in Qatar, 400m Heat (48.48 seconds)
• Asian Championships 2019 in Qatar, 400m Heat (48.51 seconds)
• World Youth Championships 2017 in Kenya (48.22 Seconds)

Rayhan also went through some struggles in his track and field career. In 2019 he was hospitalized with altitude sickness at a certain event in Nepal. But he persevered and worked to accomplish his goals. His dream was to one day represent the Bangladesh Olympics. This has become true as he is one of the Bangladeshis at the Tokyo Olympics 2020! Let’s cheer Mohammad Jahir Rayhan and the other Bangladeshi Olympians to the finish line and beyond!

Know Our Tokyo Olympians: Diya Siddique

Diya Siddique is a Bangladeshi archer who is participated in Tokyo Olympics 2020. She is a young and very promising athlete who has the capability to deliver much.

Short Biography of the Archer Diya Siddique
Name – Diya Siddique
Occupation – Student
Age – 17 years
Date of Birth – 19 February 2004
Zodiac Sign – Pisces
Birthplace: Nilphamari, Bangladesh

Early Life

Diya Siddique is a Bangladeshi archer who was born on 19 February 2004. On 23 May 2021. She comes from Nilphamari. Diya is reading in BKSP (Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan).

Career

In 2019, Diya Siddique won her first gold medal at the ISSF International Solidarity Archery Championship in Dhaka.

At the Archery World Cup 2021, Diya and Ruman Shana partnership won the silver medal in the recurve mixed team event where Bangladesh was titled as runners-up to the Netherlands in the final. However, reaching this final was the best performance of Bangladesh in the Archery World Championship.

As only a 17 years old young athlete, Diya Siddique is considered a highly rated prospect for the future of the Bangladeshi archer game.

Personal Life

In her personal life, Diya Siddique is still a student. She is a college student of the national sports institute of Bangladesh BKSP. She is the eldest of three siblings in the family.

Know Our Tokyo Olympians: Ruman Shana

Mohammad Ruman Shana is a Bangladeshi archer who is participated in Tokyo Olympics 2020. He is a young talent who delivered previously on the big stage and a very promising one for the future.

Short Biography of the Archer Ruman Shana
Name – Mohammad Ruman Shana
Occupation – Bangladesh Ansar
Age – 26 years
Date of Birth – 8 June 1995
Zodiac Sign – Gemini
Birthplace: Koyra, Bangladesh

Early Life

Mohammad Ruman Shana is a Bangladeshi archer who was born on 8 June 1995. Rumon passed his childhood at Khulna. During his school days, he used to play with an arrow-bow made of bamboo.

In an interview, he said that he was not much attentive to his school, instead, he used to remain busy playing football. However, he later opted to try his hand in archery when he was a student of class eight.

Career

Ruman Shana won the gold medal in the First Asian Grand Prix 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand. Later he won another gold medal in the International Archery Tournament 2017, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

In 2019, Ruman Shana won three international medals. The first one was a silver medal- came in the ISSF International Solidarity Archery Championships. Then he became the first Bangladeshi archer in history to win a medal in World Archery Championships. Rumon won a bronze in the recurve single event of that tournament in 2019. Later he has also won the gold medal in the men’s singles recurve at the Asia Cup 2019 in the Philippines.

He along with Diya Siddique won the silver medal in the recurve mixed team event during the 2021 Archery World Cup. Bangladesh emerged as runners-up to the Netherlands in the tournament. That was the best performance by Bangladesh at an Archery World Championship.

Personal Life

In 2014, Ruman Shana joined Bangladesh Ansar as a soldier. He was promoted to the Lance Naik rank in 2020.