Sprinters Imranur Rahman and Shirin Akter won gold medals in the 200m events on Sunday to complete sprint doubles at the conclusion of the 18th Arafat Rahman Koko National Summer Athletics Championships at the National Stadium in Dhaka.
Both athletes secured 100m titles on the opening day of the three-day competition, which produced nine national records. Bangladesh Army secured first place in the medal standings with twenty-one gold, twenty silver, and nineteen bronze medals. Bangladesh Navy finished second with eighteen gold, seventeen silver, and ten bronze medals, while BKSP placed third with one gold and three bronze medals.
Imranur, representing Bangladesh Navy, clocked 21.18 seconds to win the men’s 200m gold. Santo Karmokar and Rakibul Hasan, both representing Bangladesh Army, finished second and third with times of 21.63 and 21.77 seconds respectively. Imranur also won the 100m and 4x100m relay, earning the award for best male athlete of the championships along with an electric motorcycle.
“It’s double joy! The feeling is amazing,” Imranur said. “Actually, I participated in this event mainly as part of training, to see how it goes. I tried it in a casual and fun manner. Whatever the result has been, Alhamdulillah, I am quite satisfied with it. I have the intention to do better with better training in the future.”
In the women’s 200m, Shirin Akter set a national record by clocking 24.35 seconds, eclipsing her previous mark of 24.68 seconds set in 2024. Sharifa Khatun and Borsha Khatun finished second and third with times of 25.11 and 25.33 seconds. Shirin also contributed to Bangladesh Navy’s victory in the women’s 4x400m relay, where her team set a national record of 3 minutes 48.06 seconds alongside Sumaiya Akter, Nusrat Jahan Runa, and Sumaiya Dewan.
Despite Shirin’s performances, teammate Priya Akter received the best female athlete award after winning gold medals in the 800m, 1,500m, and 3,000m events, setting national records in the longer two disciplines. Priya earned an 80,000 taka cash prize.
Additional final day winners included Sohanur Rahman, who won the men’s 10,000m in 33 minutes 12.40 seconds, Mosharof Hossain, who took the men’s 800m in 1 minute 53.53 seconds, and Papia Akter, who claimed the women’s 800m in 2 minutes 17.88 seconds.
