Former Bangladesh cricket team captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza鈥檚 legacy has inspired a new generation of athletes in his village, Narail. A notable example is Rinky Biswas, a female long-distance runner from Bangladesh.
The 20-year-old Bangladesh Navy athlete delivered a career-best performance in the 17th National Summer Athletics Competition in Dhaka last month, setting three national records on her way to securing four gold medals in track-and-field events and also winning the best athlete title.
Rinky, the daughter of a fishmonger from Lohagara in Narail, set new records in the women鈥檚 10,000m, 5,000m and 3,000m events besides claiming gold in the 1,500m.
During her barefoot run, she collapsed on the track after recording a time of 39:14.50 seconds in the 10,000m, breaking the previous record set by Papia Khatun in 2022 by nearly two minutes.
She also improved her own 3,000m record with a time of 10:27:60 and set a new 5,000m best at 18:20.00, eclipsing team-mate Shamsunnahar Ratna鈥檚 18:49:31 in 2024.
Earlier in December 2022, Rinky set a record in the women鈥檚 5000-metre by completing her race in 19:41:40 seconds in the National Athletics Championships.
鈥業t was so difficult to stand on my feet after the run. I was exhausted, but I am happy because it was the first time I won four gold with three records in a meet, the best performance of my career,鈥� Rinky told 抖阴精品.
Since making her debut in 2018, Rinky has won 32 medals 鈥� 12 gold, 13 silver and seven bronze 鈥� at the national and international level, including podium finishes at South Asian and Indian cross-country events.
At the international stage, Rinky bagged a bronze and a silver medal in the six-kilometre race of the 2nd South Asian Cross Country Championships and in the 34th International Cross Country Championships in India.
In Bangladesh, it is often heard that a female has to overcome various social barriers to pursuing a career as an athlete, but Rinky shared a reversed story, thanks to Narail鈥檚 sporting culture, shaped by Mashrafe鈥檚 impact.
鈥業nitially, I was inspired to see my friends playing at the school field. I joined them to play whimsically before becoming fond of running... I used to play football and handball also,鈥� said Rinky.
鈥業 have never faced any challenge since Lohagara is a sports-friendly upazila, and it is because of 鈥楴arail Express鈥� famed Mashrafe. His sporting reputation immensely influenced the people of his native district [Narail] to become sports lovers. Despite no one of my family members ever meeting Mashrafe personally, we all feel him closer to us,鈥� she replied to a query.
She credited her community鈥檚 support for sparing her from social pressures, including marriage.
鈥楶eople of all ages play sports here, so there is no question of barriers, and there is not even pressure from family to marry to date,鈥� Rinky added.
Rinky, who gained recognition after winning gold in the 1,500m at the National Junior meet in 2018, currently trains for three hours each day while serving in the Navy on a monthly contract valued at Tk 40,000, which includes provisions for food, housing, and coaching facilities.
She expects that a permanent stay at the Navy will help her to go further in the coming years as a runner with no grief.
鈥業 hope my job will be permanent at the Navy, and that will help me to go further as a runner,鈥� she added.
