Mabia and Zakir shine in sprint events

The final two events of the Notun Kuri Sports were boys' and girls' 100-meter sprints. The closing ceremony at the Army Stadium was graced by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Tarique Rahman, as the chief guest. He watched these two popular events.

Before the girls' 100 meters, the girls' football final was underway on the field. A special air-conditioned glass-enclosed room was designated for the Prime Minister. However, the PM gave a surprise to the audience as he came out of that room and walked over to the running track. He wanted to enjoy the two sprint events up close after the girls' football final. He thoroughly enjoyed watching the young athletes compete for the top spots, and later called over and praised the winners of both events—Mabia and Zakir Hossain.

Both had recorded the best timings in the heats the previous day. They were the favorites to win the finals as well—and that is exactly what happened. Mabia from Dhaka outpaced everyone. She had been the best in the heats with a time of 13.82 seconds. She won the final with an improved timing of 13.75 seconds. She faced some challenge from Tisha Akter of Sylhet and Adhora Aishi of Khulna. Tisha finished second with 14.25 seconds, while Aishi took third with 14.62 seconds.

For Mabia, winning the race in front of the Prime Minister was a special feeling. After her victory, the Prime Minister called her over and praised her. She said, "I feel very good. I never imagined I would get the opportunity to meet and talk with the Prime Minister like this. I am very happy to have won the race in front of him."

Mabia, who competed for the Dhaka region, originally hails from Kishoreganj. She works hard to establish herself as a top sprinter. This success will inspire her to grow into a bigger athlete in the future. "My dream is to become a big athlete, to do something for my country, for my parents. I dream of running on the tracks of the Asian Games and the Olympic Games one day," said Mabia, who also mentioned that she wants to hand over her best prize to her day-laborer father.

Immediately after her success, the boys' 100-meter sprint began. In this event, Zakir Hossain from Khulna showed complete dominance. He had topped the heats the previous day with 11.50 seconds at the National Stadium. In the final, he further improved his timing. He finished the race in 11.15 seconds and celebrated exuberantly. He first prostrated in gratitude to the Creator, then ran towards his teammates and coaches.

In this event, the other seven competitors could not pose any challenge to Zakir. Ziad Hasan from Rangpur took second place with 11.20 seconds, while Sumon Sheikh from Rajshahi came third with 11.40 seconds.