New champions emerged in both the men’s and women’s 200m sprint events on the third and final day of the 17th National Summer Athletics Championship 2025.

Md Tarek Rahman clinched the men’s 200m title, defeating strong contenders including national sprint star Imranur Rahman, while Sharifa Khatun triumphed in the women’s 200m, edging past Shirin Akter at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Sunday.

It was the first-ever 200m gold medal for both Tarek and Sharifa.

Tarek, competing in his second national meet, took part in the 200m event for the first time, having previously run in the 100m sprint.
“I’m feeling really good. This is my first gold medal. I had the chance to train for a long time this season, and that’s why I could win,” said the Bangladesh Army sprinter after clocking 22.04s.

Army’s Abdul Motaleb and Bangladesh Air Force’s Nayeem Islam secured second and third places with times of 22.13s and 22.27s respectively.

Imranur, who had won the men’s 100m earlier in the championship, started alongside Tarek but pulled out midway due to injury.
“It would have been a great contest if he (Imranur) had finished the 200m,” Tarek added.

In the women’s event, Army’s Sharifa Khatun—who has previously won multiple 400m titles—claimed her maiden 200m gold in a thrilling finish. She crossed the line in 25.24s, just 0.03s ahead of Navy’s Shirin Akter (25.27s). BKSP’s Mim Akter came third with 25.87s.

“I never thought I would win gold in the 200m,” said Sharifa. “I am mainly a 400m runner and had trained only for that event. I didn’t participate in the 400m this time for a reason, and I never imagined winning in the 200m without preparing for it.”

She added, “Now that I’ve won gold in the 200m, I’ll focus more on both the 100m and 200m events.”