Asif Hossain Khan
Encyclopedia
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
i shooter. He won the gold medal at 2002 Commonwealth Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
in 10 m Air Rifle
10 m Air Rifle
10 metre air rifle is an International Shooting Sports Federation shooting event, shot over a distance of 10 metres from a standing position with a 4.5 mm calibre air rifle with a maximum weight of 5.5 kg...
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
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, injuring both of his arms. His son, Mashrur, currently resides in Costa Rica with wife Natalie.
Early career
Asif started his shooting career at PabnaPabna
Pabna is a town in Rajshahi Division ofBangladesh and the administrative capital of eponymous Pabna District. It is located on the north bank of Padma river and has a population of about 138,000.-Name:...
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
Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan
Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Protishthan is the national sports institute of Bangladesh. The Government-funded autonomous institute is located at Savar, near the capital Dhaka.-Management:...
(BKSP), the national sports institute of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. 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.
Commonwealth success
Asif took part in the 10 m Air rifle individual event in the 2002 Commonwealth Games2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
only 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.
Later performances
After the Commonwealth Games he took part in the Asian GamesAsian Games
The Asian Games, officially known as Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until the 1978 Games. Since the 1982 Games they have been organised by the...
. 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
2003 ISSF World Cup Final
For the 2003 ISSF World Cup in the seventeen Olympic shooting events, the World Cup Final was held in October 2003 in Milan, Italy for the rifle, pistol and running target events, and in Rome, Italy for the shotgun events.-Rifle, pistol and running target:...
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
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.
Recent performances
Asif seems to be in a lean patch in recent times. Although he got pairs silver with Anjan in 2006 Commonwealth Games2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
, 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.
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 Games2006 Asian Games
The 15th Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad, is Asia's Olympic-style sporting event that was held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to December 15, 2006. Doha was the first city in its region and only the second in West Asia to host the games...
to be held at Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
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".
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. Asif's mental and emotional trauma was also apparent as he claimed he would give up shooting. He even pondered he would give his Commonwealth Games gold medal back to the authority.
2008 South Asian Shooting Championship
On November 22, 2008, Asif won two gold medals on the opening day of 4th South Asian Shooting Championship in IslamabadIslamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. He first won the individual gold in 10m Air Rifle event scoring 694.3 points, and then won the team event under the same category with shooters Saiful Islam and Imam Hossain. In the individual gold, Asif bettered his previous best score of 691 points.