Sports Desk

The maiden edition of International Open Veterans Athletics Championship 2024, organised by Bangladesh Veterans Athletes’ Association and assisted by Bangladesh Athletics Federation (BAF), will begin on Thursday at the track and turf of Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS).

The organisers are expecting that some 340 senior athletes and 60 coaches, managers from six South Asian countries – India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and hosts Bangladesh – will take part in the three-day meet that will conclude on Saturday.

The organisers also informed that the country’s 232 veteran athletes from 33 associations and institutions will compete here while India will send 60, Sri Lanka 15, Nepal 7, Maldives 2 and Pakistan 1 participants. The foreign participants are expecting to arrive in Dhaka today.

The organisers have fixed the age limit for men's athletes from 35 to 70 years and for women's athletes will be 35 to 65 years. A total of 233 events -- 128 in men's category and 105 in women's category -- will be held.

The details were disclosed at the BNS press conference on Tuesday in the presence of BAF general secretary Adv Abdur Rakib Montu, competition's member-secretary Wahab Khan and other former national athletes.

“We (senior athletes) previously took part in different international competitions under the banner of the association, we achieved medals in India’s Cooch Behar, Midnapore and Thailand’s open veteran games. We are going to host an open event for veteran athletes for the first time,” said Wahab, who is also a former athlete.

“The competition will help our athletes in the upcoming World Masters Athletics in Sweden (13-25 August). We are sending a 15-member team there. However, the association will bear the expenditure of the competition and the federation is giving all other support,” said he adding that they have no sponsors.