A spectacular opening ceremony of the third edition of the Gulshan Club Olympiad took place on Friday at the Gulshan Club tennis court. The competition involving a host of local clubs and foreign social clubs based in the country was inaugurated by Mohammad A. Arafat, MP of Dhaka-17 constituency and chief guest of the ceremony. The opening ceremony featured colorful arrangements like a flash mob and fire dance.
Before the inauguration, Gulshan Club President Rafiqul Alam Helal said in his welcome speech: “We call clubs like Gulshan Club ‘social clubs’. People wonder what is really going on in these clubs. In December, you will realize that we put sport first. We ensure a good sporting environment and relations between clubs improve. This year, 18 clubs are participating.”
Dr. Wahiduzzaman Tomal, Chairman of the Sports Carnival Organizing Committee, thanked Gulshan Youth Club and its President Mahedi Hasan for being the partner of the event. “We thank Gulshan Youth Club and its vice-president Mehadi for being the venue partner. I hope they will also be involved in these types of initiatives in the future.”
Activities on the ground began Friday morning, well before the opening ceremony. Some T10 format cricket matches were held at the Youth Club ground. Dhaka Bank and Bhaiya Housing Ltd are acting as platinum sponsors of the event, while Orion Footwear and Prime Bank are acting as gold sponsors.
Zareen Karim, Managing Director of Orion Pharma and Orion Footwear, said: “We thank the hosts for organizing the event. Orion Group always supports sports, especially kabaddi and golf at the national level. We see the Olympiad as an opportunity. In the future we intend to be part of it. of this too “
The Gulshan Club Olympiad was first held in 2019. The event was suspended for two years due to Covid-19. It resumed last year and the 2023 event will be the third edition. Many club members and their children will participate in the sports carnival. More than 900 members have already registered for the event.
18 clubs are participating in the Olympiad this year. They are – American Club, All Community Club Ltd, Baridhara Cosmopolitan Club, Banani Club, Cadet College Club, Chittagong Club, Club Shahin Ltd, Dhaka Boat Club, Dhaka Club, German Club Dhaka, Gulshan Club, Gulshan Youth Club, Gregorian Alumni Club. Ltd, International Recreation Club, Khulna Club Ltd, Narayanganj Club, Sylhet Club and Uttara Club.
18 events from 13 sports were included in the Olympiad. These are arm wrestling, badminton, women’s basketball, chess, cricket, football, golf, billiards, snooker, squash, table tennis and tennis. A quiz game was included for the first time. A special event titled “The Power of Her” will take place. The cricket, football, basketball and badminton events will be held at Gulshan Youth Club. The golf events will take place at Kurmitola Golf Club. The rest of the events will take place at Gulshan Club.
