ASIANS GAMES
Error-Filled Jerseys put Bangladesh shuttlers’ participation at risk
Photo: Agamir Somoy
Bangladesh has already begun making headlines for negative reasons as the Games get underway. The Bangladesh badminton team is scheduled to take to the court on Monday. However, it emerged this morning that the jerseys the shuttlers are supposed to wear contain numerous errors. Due to the negligence of badminton federation officials, the shuttlers’ participation in the Games is now at risk.
An investigation has revealed that the shuttlers had pointed out the numerous errors in the jerseys to federation officials while they were still in Bangladesh. However, the federation ignored their concerns. Claiming that the jerseys had been made with the approval of the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA), officials sent the shuttlers to Nagoya with the faulty jerseys. The errors range from misspelled names to incorrect designs and font sizes. The organising committee has raised objections to the jerseys.
One of the shuttlers explained the errors. The athlete, who requested anonymity, said, “There are numerous errors in the jerseys that the federation wants us to wear during matches. At international events, players’ names are generally required to be printed on jerseys according to their passports. The federation has used our commonly used names on these jerseys. Organisers may sometimes approve that. But misspelling a name is absolutely unacceptable.
“One of our players is Ayman Ibn Zaman. His name has been written as ‘Juman’ in English on his jersey. Not only that, there are errors in the font, font size and flag size. A border line has been added around the font. The country’s name is supposed to appear below the player’s name, but here the order has been reversed. We informed the federation’s general secretary about these issues while we were still in Bangladesh. In response, he told us that the BOA had supposedly approved the jersey design.”
Based on their past experiences, the shuttlers realised that they might not be allowed to compete in these jerseys. As a result, they individually brought one set of jerseys and shorts with them. However, it is not feasible to compete in multiple team and individual events wearing just one set of jerseys. The shuttlers are therefore trying to arrange new jerseys with a different design by contacting the manufacturer, Yonex, themselves.
Meanwhile, federation officials are attempting to shift the blame onto the BOA. Badminton Federation General Secretary Hasibur Rahman Shakil was supposed to accompany the team as a coach. However, he has yet to arrive in Nagoya following the death of his mother.
The federation’s vice-president, Mohiuddin Bulbul, who travelled with the team as its manager, has declined to take responsibility.
“We made the jerseys after obtaining approval from the Olympic authorities. If there are errors, they are responsible. Nevertheless, we are trying to find a solution. Actually, we opened the packages last night (Saturday) and noticed some minor errors in the jerseys. There were errors in the names (!). We showed our jerseys to the organisers. They told us that these jerseys would not be accepted and that new jerseys had to be submitted by 11am tomorrow. Otherwise, Bangladesh would not be allowed to compete. We are now considering alternatives.”
Although the errors had been identified earlier, the federation failed to take action. Even two days ago, BOA Secretary General Zobaidur Rahman Rana had summoned badminton officials and instructed them to correct the mistakes immediately. However, the failure to do so has frustrated Rana.
He said they were trying to resolve the issue: “We had instructed the federations long ago to prepare jerseys and obtain our approval. Many of them submitted their designs. Badminton was delaying the process. We called them in and asked them to prepare at least one jersey and show it to us. They did not even do that. We asked them to show us the design. If a federation cannot even get a jersey right, we cannot possibly oversee everything for them. Federation officials should have at least this much common sense. They do not even have that. I am speaking with the Asian Badminton Federation and trying to resolve the issue. However, new jerseys may have to be made.”
The initiative to produce new jerseys, however, was taken by the shuttlers themselves. After explaining their predicament to Yonex, the company agreed to make new jerseys for them before Monday’s matches.
However, the affected shuttlers still do not know whether the federation or the BOA will bear the cost.
It has also been learned that when the team manager informed the general secretary about the need to purchase new jerseys, the general secretary allegedly reprimanded him instead.
