The World Athletics Championships are currently underway in Tokyo, Japan, with Bangladesh represented by a lone athlete: 400-metre hurdler Nazmul Hasan Rony. Competing today, Rony finished 42nd out of 44 participants in the men’s 400-metre hurdles.
The event was split into five heats, with Rony running in the fifth. He placed ninth out of nine in his heat, clocking a time of 52.47 seconds. Nigeria’s Nathaniel won the heat with a time of 48.37 seconds.
Across all five heats, a total of 44 athletes competed. Rony’s time placed him ahead of just two athletes, one from Saint Kitts and Nevis and another from Macau. The top four finishers from each heat, along with the next four fastest athletes, qualified for the semi-finals, forming a group of 24.
Earlier this year in February, Rony broke a long-standing national record in the 400-metre hurdles. The previous record, set by Abdur Rahim Naeem of the Navy in December 1993, stood at 51.87 seconds. Rony bettered it with a time of 50.84 seconds.
However, his recent form has shown a dip. At the Summer Athletics competition last month, he won gold in the 400-metre hurdles, but with a slower time of 52.30 seconds. In Tokyo, he went even slower.
Despite setting a national record at home, Rony was unable to come close to his personal best on the world stage. Even if he had matched his record time of 50.84 seconds, he would have moved up just one place in the rankings, from 42nd to 41st.
In global meets such as the World Athletics or Swimming Championships, Bangladesh rarely expects medals, and even modest improvements are viewed as signs of development. Still, Rony’s result underscores the gap that remains. Bangladesh was the only South Asian country represented in this event, a reminder of the long journey ahead for athletics in the region.
