DHAKA, Nov 20, 2019 (BSS) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said her
government has given due importance to the expansion of other games like
tennis alongside football and cricket.
The prime minister simultaneously urged the people of the country to
practice more tennis side by side with soccer and cricket.
“The people of the country are very much familiar with football and
cricket. But tennis is also an important game. So, we’ve also given proper
importance to the promotion of tennis,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina made the remarks when the players and diplomats of the
participating countries in Sheikh Russel International Club Cup Tennis
Tournament-2019 paid a courtesy call on her at her official Ganabhaban
residence here this afternoon.
Pointing out her government’s initiatives for development of tennis in the
country, the prime minister said her government has taken steps to set up
more tennis courts in the country and impart training to the players so that
people are more interested in tennis.
“Not only for football and cricket, we’ll make more arrangements for
training for the tennis players,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said her government wants more inter-university, inter-
college and inter-school tennis tournaments be arranged in the country. “We
want the children be more interested in tennis,” she said.
Putting emphasis on hosting more international tournaments in the country,
she said foreign players apart from local players participate in the
tournaments. “It’s good for both local and foreign boys and girls as they get
a scope to know each other,” she said.
The prime minister said her government is giving emphasis to expansion of
games and sports in the country as it provides mental strength to the people.
“As much as our boys and girls will be engaged in games and sports their
thinking and mentality will be flourished to that extent and they will remain
healthy physically,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina congratulated the players of 19 countries for participating in
the Sheikh Russel International Club Cup Tennis Tournament-2019.
She also extended her sincere thanks to the organisers for successful
arrangements of the tournament in Khulna.
Youth and Sports Secretary Md Akhter Hossain spoke at the function
highlighting salient features of the tournament.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid
Ahsan Russel and lawmakers from Khulna Abdus Salam Murshedy and Sheikh Jewel
were present on the occasion.
Khulna district administration organised the event from Nov 13-18 in
cooperation with Cabinet Division and Ministry of Youth and Sports on the
occasion of 54th birth anniversary of Sheikh Russel, the youngest son of
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The prime minister inaugurated the tournament on November 13 through a
videoconference from Dhaka.
Seventy-four players from Bangladesh, Australia, Bhutan, India, Iraq, South
Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan, United States, Cameroon, Italy and Pakistan took part in the
event.