"Gulshan Club Olympiad aims to change the concept of social clubs"

The Gulshan Club Olympiad is going to be organized for the third time under the initiative of the Gulshan Club. 18 clubs are participating in the inter-club sports carnival, with a total of 18 events across 13 sports.

Dr Wahiduzzaman Tamal, who is the chairman of the Olympiad Organising Committee, is looking after the whole arrangement. According to him, people have a misconception about social clubs. He said that Olympiad-like arrangements are being made to change that perception and increase camaraderie between the clubs.
 
Wahiduzzaman said "Gulshan Club, Dhaka Club, Uttara Club or Banani Club; These clubs are called social clubs. Everyone thinks that clubs only have people gossiping, sitting and chatting and not much sports. This arrangement is to change the idea of a social club."

"We organise a lot of sports events to stay in good health and interact with other clubs. The purpose of organising the Olympiad. Along with us, our children also get to play here. We have many former national-level players in our clubs," he added.

The Gulshan Club plans to organize the Olympiad every year. Wahiduzzaman said, "We started the Gulshan Club Olympiad in 2019 with 14 clubs. The Olympiad was closed due to Covid. In 2022 with 15 teams we held the second Olympiad. 18 clubs are participating this year. The Board of Directors of Gulshan Club wish to organise this Olympiad every year. It has come to be known as a signature event of the Gulshan Club."

Wahiduzzaman said that clubs from different parts of the country are getting more interested in the Olympiad every year. Foreign clubs based in Bangladesh are also participating in the Olympiad, he said, "Last year 715 contestants participated. This time we expect more than 900 contestants. About 25,000 members of all clubs are associated with it in one way or another." 

"To be honest, it's a big event. After the last two seasons, this time we have received many calls from people from various clubs to know when we will have the Olympiad. Already 900 people have registered, hopefully, it will exceed one thousand. We hope the club will grow every year. Not only local clubs but also foreign clubs based in Bangladesh are participating here such as American Club, International Club, and German Club. Apart from this, there are clubs outside Dhaka," he said.

The Gulshan Club will arrange accommodation for club members outside Dhaka who are going to participate in the Olympiad. A big event means there will be a big expenditure. Wahiduzzaman is optimistic about organising the Olympiad successfully with the money received from the sponsors, "We are arranging the accommodation of the clubs outside Dhaka from here. This time Dhaka Bank and Bhaiya Housing are the platinum sponsors while the gold sponsors are Orion Footwear and Prime Bank," he concluded.