The Bangladesh skating team left for China on Thursday night with an eye on winning a medal in the Asia Cup Skate Track Series Club Championship. 22 skaters will participate in this international competition to be held in Lishui, China from August 10 to 12.

The Bangladesh team has 9 female and 13 male skaters. The 27-member team, including five officials, left Dhaka on a China Southern Airlines flight on Thursday night.

In this edition, Bangladesh will face strong competitors like host China, South Korea, Iran, Russia and Taiwan. Although tough competition awaits, the success of the last edition is giving new confidence to the red-green representatives.

Last year, Bangladesh skaters made a splash in the country's sports arena by winning two gold and two bronze medals in another competition. Nabiyun Islam in particular created history by winning two gold medals in the 500-meter speed race and 1,000-meter sprint.

Before leaving for China, National Sports Council Director (Sports) Zahed Parvez Chowdhury greeted the team members with flowers at the National Sports Council on Thursday. At that time, Bangladesh Skating Federation President Dr. Kamruzzaman Kaiser, General Secretary Lutfar Rahman, Bangladesh Athletics Federation General Secretary Advocate Ali Imam Tapan and Bangladesh Volleyball Federation General Secretary Abdul Mumin Saddam were present.

Bangladesh Skating Federation General Secretary Lutfar Rahman said, "Last time we won two gold medals. This time too, we are going with the goal of winning a gold medal by maintaining that consistency. The prayers and support of the people of the country are our biggest strength."