(Photos/Provided to People's Daily Online)

Bowler Musharraf Ahmed Shohel has become Bangladesh's first athlete to qualify for 10-pin bowling at the 2018 Asia Pacific Masters Games, the inaugural edition of the Asia Pacific Masters Games in Penang, Malaysia.

According to a press release issued on Saturday, Ahmed has been selected and given an invitation card to participate in the competition.

On Thursday, Ahmed left Dhaka to represent Bangladesh under the sponsorship of Janco Bangladesh Limited, a part of Janco International Freight Limited, which was founded in 1990 as a global forwarding and logistics service provider with its headquarters in Hong Kong, China.

"This is a great honor for me as well as for the Bangladeshi 10-pin bowling athletes," said Ahmed, who already took part in an international tournament in Melbourne, Australia in April this year.

"So far I know no other sportsman from the country took part in the game. So I am honored and glad that I will be representing my country through the game I play in Penang. I have already booked a ticket for Penang and hopefully, I will be able to make my country proud in the event," Ahmed said last week, upon his return from Singapore where he spent time practicing 10-pin bowling.

The Asia Pacific Masters Games is a regional multi-sport event which involves participants from the Asia-Pacific region.

The 2018 Asia Pacific Masters Games is being held in the Malaysian state of Penang from Sept. 7 to 15, 2018.

Organized by the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), it is the first ever Masters Games for the Asia-Pacific region.