Asif Hossain Khan
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Asif Hossain Khan (Bengali: আসিফ হোসেন খান) is a Bangladeshi shooter. He won the gold medal at 2002 Commonwealth Games in 10 m Air Rifle and repeated his success in the 2004 SAF games by winning gold in the same event. On October 2, 2006 he was brutally beaten by the local police of Bangladesh, injuring both of his arms. [1]
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[edit] Early career
Asif started his shooting career at Pabna Shooting Club. Although he preferred athletics to shooting, he snatched inter-club shooting championship in 1999 and 2000. Still an athletics fanatic, Asif entered the athletics training programme of Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan (BKSP), the national sports institute of Bangladesh. But his career plans changed when his coach asked him to join the newly-organized shooting team of BKSP. Asif agreed to his coach's proposal more as a responsibility than interest. Later, he insisted that his coaches at BKSP helped him to build his winning mentality.
Asif took part in the 2002 Bangladesh Games and achieved a bronze medal. His success was then spotted by the national scouts and he was called at the camp of that year's Commonwealth Games. Asif was surprised for his calling at the camp and found it even tougher there. But he attracted everyone with his talent and hard labor and was selected for the national team. [2]
[edit] Career
[edit] Commonwealth success
Asif took part in the 10 m Air rifle individual event in the 2002 Commonwealth Gamesonly at the age of 15. He performed well and found himself fifth before the last shot. At that moment he thought a good shot could earn him a fourth place finish. He said,"..if I could make a good I would probably end up fourth. The bronze was a possibility but slightly unlike". But it was not bronze he received. He made a remarkable final shot scoring 9.9 with a total of 691.9 and stunned all to get the gold. [3]
[edit] Later performances
After the Commonwealth Games he took part in the Asian Games. Though he got a disappointing 12th place finish he scored more points than his Commonwealth triumph.
In 2003 he performed respectably in the 2003 World Cup in Milan.
In 2004 he became the first Bangladeshi to take part in shooting at the Olympics. Even though he finished 35th, he considered the event as his highest honour. In 2005 Asian Championship he registered his highest ever total score that earned him a bronze medal finish. [4]
[edit] Recent performances
Asif seems to be in a lean patch in recent times. Although he got pairs silver with Anjan in 2006 Commonwealth Games, he lost his individual gold that he had achieved four years earlier. He only scored 586 in the qualification round and 103.2 in the shoot up to be placed 5th. He also lost his medal in the 2006 SAF games to Indian shooters. He was also beaten by compatriot Imam Hossain and finished fourth.
Asif who is known for his trademark shoot up, performed poorly in this event. In Colombo SAF Games,two of his shoot up score was under ten with a highest of 10.7 where he used to reach 10.8 three to four times. About his poor shoot up performances he said,"I don't quite enjoy it these days. A fear works in my mind. He also thinks the pressure of expectation may be the reason for this and expect to overcome this soon. [5].
[edit] Police incident
On October 2, 2006, after a rough incident between police and shooting federation staff, police broke into the federation premises and assaulted several shooters including Asif. Asif and his fellow shooters were preparing for the 2006 Asian Games to be held at Doha on November 2006. An altercation occurred between a police chauffeur and a federation guard regarding the parking of a car. Following this, police came to the spot and, according to witnesses, beat "whoever they found". [6]
Police beat Asif in multiple area and severely injured his left arm and leg. Asif said, "We, in fact, tried to stop the brawl but police would not listen to us". He also tried to protect himself by asserting his identity and success to his attackers. However, the police appeared to intensify their violence after this revelation. He, along with four other shooters and staff, were taken to the police station and beaten again. They were later sent to court by the police. Asif was granted bail from the court and was admitted to hospital. Doctors suggested that his arm muscles were badly injured and would take time to recover. His leg was also injured seriously and doctors were uncertain of when he would be able to practice again. [7] Asif's mental and emotional trauma was also apparent as he claimed he would give up shooting. [8]. He even pondered he would give his Commonwealth Games gold medal back to the authority[9]. The whole sporting community was stunned by the image of the best shooter of the country grunting and lying on bed with his shooting arm covered with plaster. This incident has left Asif's future in doubt.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The Daily Prothom Alo, October 3, 2006
- ^ The Daily Star report
- ^ BBC report of his Commonwealth success
- ^ The Daily Star report
- ^ The Daily Prothom Alo,August 23,2006
- ^ BBC report of police attack over Asif
- ^ The Daily Prothom Alo,October 5,2006
- ^ The Daily Prothom Alo,October 4,2006
- ^ The Daily Star,October 13,2006
