BKSP S Director Envisions Golf’s Future Success
Brigadier General Syed Md Motahar Hossain, the esteemed Director General of Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP), the country’s premier sports education institute, envisions a future where golf becomes a staple discipline with the right support from golfing authorities. Under his leadership, BKSP has flourished, nurturing around 1500 trainees annually across 21 disciplines and consistently producing international stars in sports such as cricket, football, and hockey. With a robust athlete development program and potential collaborations with golf clubs like Savar Golf Club, he is optimistic that integrating golf into BKSP’s curriculum could yield a new generation of champions for Bangladesh
Tell us about BKSP and its currentprograms.
BKSP is the prime sports training institute in Bangladesh and is the only government institution that takes trainees to upgrade them for international competitions. Currently there are 21 disciplines and we train roughly around 1500 trainees a year. And we produce a lot of international stars. BKSP started it’s journey in 1986 and over the three decades or so, it has
produced many international stars in cricket, football and hockey. BKSP also focuses on potential sports such as shooting and archery.
Currently we have a long athletes development program under which we take regular students. Generally the intake comes within Class 4-7 and they are trained up to Class 12. Besides
this, we undertake some short duration training for the sports talents of the country.
Are you taking any initiative to introduce golf in your institute?
There is always a possibility. Owing to the rules of business, golf is an approved game in BKSP. However, due to many limitations, golf could not be started. But if Bangladesh Golf Federation collaborates with BKSP, it can be introduced in near future. You see there is no golf course in BKSP, so if golf needs to be started, we need to collaborate with another golf course. It could be Savar Golf Club or any other golf club near our training center.
How is the performance of BKSP athletes in different disciplines?
BKSP is doing a lot in cricket. We are consistently producing international cricketers like Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah. Even recent sensations like Jaker Ali, Tanzim Sakib, Tanzid Tamim – all of them are coming from BKSP. You’ll be happy to know that we are consistently supplying age-level players to the national team. There are good prospects among current students to become international cricketers in future.
What can be done to make golf a more professional sport and have more success in it?
There are certainly a lot of good potential golfers in Bangladesh. But we need to get them integrated with a system so that they can play golf for a long time and earn laurels for the country. I think there is a need for greater collaboration between golfers, Bangladesh Golf Federation and Golf Academy. And that can be assisted by BKSP. Like cricket, football and other sports, we train athletes for a long duration and that is bringing success. The same is the case for golfers. I think we need to pick young talents and train them for a long period to yield success.
How did you get associated with golf?
It’s a long story. I started my golfing journey in 2014 through the Rangpur Golf and Country Club. It’s been 10 years now I’ve been playing golf and I have played in almost all the golf clubs in the country. I’ve been a keen golfer for a long time. Last year I probably played every day, early in the morning. But nowadays due to my busy schedule, I’m trying to play twice a week – on Fridays and Saturdays. I started playing golf through inspiration from my wife. Actually she started before me and pushed me to the golf course.We are a golfing family. My three daughters play good golf, and my wife probably won more trophies than me. In a tournament we both played, but it was my youngest daughter who won the trophy.
Who are your favourite golfers?
At home, I really like Akbar Hossain. I have played with him many times and I’m happy to see that he’s doing well. If I talk about international stars, I would say Tiger Woods because he’s been a champion for a long time and is still continuing.
What, according to you, is the most gratifying thing about golf?
The most gratifying thing about golf for me is that I have made a lot of friends on the golf courses. I love the association with other golfers, it makes me happy.
