Jui Akter, who learned swimming from her mother in the river, is now the country's best swimmer

The Sagarkhali river flows in front of her house. The river once had a strong current, though it is now almost dead. It was in this river that Jui began learning to swim from her mother. That Jui Akter is now the best swimmer in the country.

In the recently held Max Group 35th National Swimming, Diving and Water Polo Competition-2026, organised by the Bangladesh Swimming Federation, Jui won 10 gold medals and two silver medals in swimming alone and was selected as the best player.

Jui Akter is the daughter of Saiful Islam and Bilkis Khatun of Sadarpur village in Sadarpur Union, Mirpur Upazila, Kushtia. She is the youngest of three siblings. Her father is a sharecropper.

While other children spent their free time playing with toys, Jui spent that time learning to swim, leaving her friends of the same age behind. She first learned from her mother, and when she was in class four she joined a club to take swimming training.

Jui said her swimming began with her family. She first learned to swim from her mother in the river near her house. Then, when she was in class four, she joined the Sagarkhali Swimming Club in the neighbouring Amla Union.

Swimming training in the morning, then school after returning home, and swimming training again in the afternoon — that is how Jui spent her childhood. Despite poverty, her mother was keen to teach her daughter to swim alongside her studies.

After learning to swim there for some time, her coach Amirul Islam told her to join BKSP, where she could get better training and continue her studies well. Jui then joined BKSP.

The competition was held over four days, from 28 to 31 October, at the Syed Nazrul Islam National Swimming Complex in Mirpur, Dhaka. Around 800 players and officials from divisional and district sports associations, swimming clubs, BKSP, universities, and institutions including the Bangladesh Army, Navy, Air Force and Police took part.

The Bangladesh Navy team became champions with 34 gold, 24 silver and 15 bronze medals, a total of 73 medals. The Bangladesh Army team finished second with 16 gold, 22 silver and 26 bronze medals, a total of 64, while BKSP finished third with two silver and six bronze medals, a total of eight.

Among them, Jui Akter of Mirpur, Kushtia, won a total of 12 medals — 10 gold and two silver — in the swimming category and was selected as the best player. She achieved this success representing the Bangladesh Army.

Jui said she is currently a contract swimmer with the Bangladesh Army, having joined three months ago. Before that, she was at BKSP.

Although people in the area once looked down on a girl learning to swim, they are now praising Jui. Her coaches say Jui is now an inspiration to swimmers.

Speaking about her dream, Jui said Bangladesh has had no major success at the SAFF Games for a long time and has won no gold medal since 2016. Her dream and her greatest effort now are to achieve a good result for Bangladesh at the SAFF Games, so that the country's honour grows.

Jui's mother Bilkis Khatun said she is now proud of her daughter. When Jui first went to learn swimming, she used to go with her. She wants her daughter to do even better and bring honour to the country.

Jui's father Saiful Islam said no one can be made to understand how happy a father feels when his daughter achieves something good. He wants his daughter to do even better and increase the honour of the country.

Morjina Khatun, a coach at the Sagarkhali Swimming Club, said Jui first began learning to swim from her and her brother Amirul. Seeing her swim from the very beginning, she told her brother that this girl would achieve something very good.

Amirul Islam, former joint general secretary of the Bangladesh Swimming Federation and a coach of Kushtia's swimming community, said Jui is a fine swimmer who has risen from a village. With better training, she will achieve something good for the country on the international stage.

Mezbah Uddin Pintu, member secretary of the Kushtia District Sports Association, said Amla Union of Kushtia is a stronghold of swimming and fertile ground for producing swimmers. The organisers there are nurturing swimming with sincerity and trying to produce capable swimmers.

Jui's achievement has spread joy and pride in her own area. People are flocking to her house in groups. Various sports organisations and political parties have also congratulated her. Farida Yasmin, member of parliament for the reserved women's seats of Kushtia-2, 3 and 4, congratulated Jui with flowers.