Highlighting the importance of sports as a ‘cornerstone of wellbeing’ today, Malian-French Olympian Kady Kanouté Tounkara has encouraged Bangladeshi young athletes -- both boys and girls -- to maintain a balance between sports and studies.

She emphasised the importance of navigating challenges effectively and staying relevant after their sports careers by making meaningful contributions to society.

“It's really crucial. You cannot only depend on medication, because in the world today, you need to be physically and mentally fit to be able to really survive. You need to know what you're doing, what you're talking about. So it's very important to do both and make a balance between sports and studies,” Kady, who participated in the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 as co-captain of the Mali women's basketball team, told UNB in an interview.

“Who are doing sports; I would say that it's critical that they study at the same. Sport is only one part of your life. It's one chapter, and sometimes it's a short chapter. So for women, especially whenever we start getting married, having children, it's already finished. So you need to have a double – both sports and study. It's very important as it even makes you a better athlete,” she added.

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Talking to this correspondent on the sidelines of the 15th Social Business Day-2025, Kady, now a leading voice in global sports administration, shared her experiences overcoming cultural and societal challenges as a female athlete.

Kady, a professional player for several years in Europe and a five-time French national champion and African champion before completing her Marketing and Management degree at Fordham University in New York, shared how she got engaged with Nobel Laureate and Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.

She discussed her involvement with Prof Yunus' social business initiatives and highlighted her transition from sports to career support through the International Olympic Committee and her participation in Prof Yunus' business accelerator programme.

From serving as Chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency Education Committee to leading IOC programmes and consulting with the Yunus Sports Hub, Kady is a powerhouse for ethical, sustainable empowerment through sport and entrepreneurship in Africa.

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She emphasised the importance of sustainable business models for athletes and her role as an ambassador for Prof Yunus' work.

Kady appreciated Prof Yunus "3 Zeros" which refers to his vision for a future with zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions.

Prof Yunus advocates for these goals as interconnected and achievable through social business and sustainable practices.

Changemaker Kady called for empowering more youth and social entrepreneurs ‘with zero excuses.”

“People give themselves too many excuses not to do the right thing. So, there should be zero excuse not to reach the goal that we need to save the planet,” she said while responding to a question. “It's just a matter of doing it and having everybody believes that this is the right thing to do. It's too easy to find excuses. So, professor (Yunus), I think you should add another zero excuse.”

Apart from speaking at the inaugural session, Kady joined a plenary session titled “Youth in Action - Meet Your Everyday Heroes.”

From courts and cricket fields to climate action and community empowerment - the session brought together a powerful panel of young changemakers redefining what leadership looks like.

Moderated by SDGs Affairs Principal Coordinator Lamiya Morshed, the session explored how youths are shaping a world of three zeros.

Through sports, social business, activism and entrepreneurship, each speaker shared inspiring stories of resilience, innovation and hope.

Talking about her experience in joining the Social Business Day this year in Bangladesh, Kady said, “It’s amazing. You know, there's a difference between knowing about the work and seeing the work right on the ground.”

She said it is amazing seeing the projects have been realized, seeing and meeting people who have worked with Prof Yunus since the 70s, who know his journey and what he has done and how he has done it. “It's not easy.”

“And coming here, for me, was really eye opener because I could come beside the programmes that I'm involved with, I can see so many other programmes that he has put on and also that can be so useful on my continent as well in Africa,” Kady said.

She said she wants to bring more people to the next Social Business Day forward. “Knowing all this, we really need a consortium - maybe of other athletes who can come here and see - also other Africans who can come here and see. Because there's a lot of models and examples from the projects that are here which are really suitable for us.”

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“We have economic challenges. We have wars (in the world). We are in a complicated area. So, people need a solution,” Kady said.

Praising Prof Yunus’ work, Kady said, “He's an amazing human being. I think Bangladesh should be proud to have him and I am wishing him a long life and some rest. He is just sunlight in the world - in this very dark world that we have right now.”