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Wheelchair rugby star Bulbul aims for gold in 2012 Paralympic Games
Bulbul Hussain is another name to add to the list of elite sports men and women with Tower Hamlets connections hoping to win a medal at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Along with the likes of Bow 400 metre hurdler Perri Shakes-Drayton, 400 metre Olympic Champion Christine Ohuruogu who trains at Mile End, and former Raines Foundation School pupil Phillips Idowu, the wheelchair rugby player has set his sights on glory on his home patch.
Bulbul took up the sport a year after a car accident in the mid-90s left him with spinal injuries. At first he did it for fun and to regain some fitness, but after a few training sessions Bulbul decided to commit himself fully to the sport.
Bulbul said: It was hard to break into the squad and took me a long time. I really had to focus and work hard to make it.
At the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Canada, last September, Great Britain came fifth overall, winning three games but losing four. Bulbul said the whole squad were disappointed with the way the tournament in Canada went.
We could have done better, he said. Something was not clicking. It felt like we were missing something, as we were not firing on all cylinders.
A couple of the players had good tournaments, but others didnt perform as well as we expected them to.
The team will look to improve on their performance in next summers European Championships in Switzerland, a tournament in which they have a strong chance of winning a medal. But the next 18 months are all about ensuring the squad is ready for the 2012.
The three teams most likely to cause them problems are the USA, Australia and Canada the top ranked teams in the world. However, Bulbul believes home advantage will give the British the boost to win gold.
He said: USA are the favourites but at home we expect to beat them. Last time we played we pushed them to three overtimes, so we were unlucky to lose in a game that could have gone either way. If the luck is on our side then I think we will win a gold medal.
Bulbul is under no illusion that he and the team will have to work hard not only to win a medal, but to secure a place in the squad.
Nobodys place is guaranteed. Not even the best players. Anything could happen between now and then, so for the next 18 months everyone will be working hard, he said.
After the team finished fourth in Beijing, Bulbul considered retiring from the game. Its the worst place to finish! I would rather finish fifth or sixth, he said. To be so close and not win anything was hard.
At 38 he was the oldest member of the squad that went to Canada and is unsure if he will continue playing after the Olympics.
We will have to wait and see, he said. I am more likely to finish if we win something, but there are players on other squads in their 50s, so I dont know yet.
Tom OConnor, head coach of the British team, told East End Life: Bulbul is a very talented, experienced low point-classified player and our aim is to recruit more high point players to play in line-ups with him.
He possesses extraordinary skills for a player of his function and his attitude is an example to the younger players.
A Channel 4 crew followed the Great Britain rugby team when they were in Canada.
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He's a sylheti, Iajdani or Zakir do you know this guy?
Bulbul Hussain is another name to add to the list of elite sports men and women with Tower Hamlets connections hoping to win a medal at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Along with the likes of Bow 400 metre hurdler Perri Shakes-Drayton, 400 metre Olympic Champion Christine Ohuruogu who trains at Mile End, and former Raines Foundation School pupil Phillips Idowu, the wheelchair rugby player has set his sights on glory on his home patch.
Bulbul took up the sport a year after a car accident in the mid-90s left him with spinal injuries. At first he did it for fun and to regain some fitness, but after a few training sessions Bulbul decided to commit himself fully to the sport.
Bulbul said: It was hard to break into the squad and took me a long time. I really had to focus and work hard to make it.
At the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Canada, last September, Great Britain came fifth overall, winning three games but losing four. Bulbul said the whole squad were disappointed with the way the tournament in Canada went.
We could have done better, he said. Something was not clicking. It felt like we were missing something, as we were not firing on all cylinders.
A couple of the players had good tournaments, but others didnt perform as well as we expected them to.
The team will look to improve on their performance in next summers European Championships in Switzerland, a tournament in which they have a strong chance of winning a medal. But the next 18 months are all about ensuring the squad is ready for the 2012.
The three teams most likely to cause them problems are the USA, Australia and Canada the top ranked teams in the world. However, Bulbul believes home advantage will give the British the boost to win gold.
He said: USA are the favourites but at home we expect to beat them. Last time we played we pushed them to three overtimes, so we were unlucky to lose in a game that could have gone either way. If the luck is on our side then I think we will win a gold medal.
Bulbul is under no illusion that he and the team will have to work hard not only to win a medal, but to secure a place in the squad.
Nobodys place is guaranteed. Not even the best players. Anything could happen between now and then, so for the next 18 months everyone will be working hard, he said.
After the team finished fourth in Beijing, Bulbul considered retiring from the game. Its the worst place to finish! I would rather finish fifth or sixth, he said. To be so close and not win anything was hard.
At 38 he was the oldest member of the squad that went to Canada and is unsure if he will continue playing after the Olympics.
We will have to wait and see, he said. I am more likely to finish if we win something, but there are players on other squads in their 50s, so I dont know yet.
Tom OConnor, head coach of the British team, told East End Life: Bulbul is a very talented, experienced low point-classified player and our aim is to recruit more high point players to play in line-ups with him.
He possesses extraordinary skills for a player of his function and his attitude is an example to the younger players.
A Channel 4 crew followed the Great Britain rugby team when they were in Canada.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He's a sylheti, Iajdani or Zakir do you know this guy?
