United News of Bangladesh

India took control from the start to win the Women’s Asia Cup cricket tournament for an eighth time on Sunday, beating Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final. India won the toss, scored a challenging total of 183-5 and then dismissed Sri Lanka for 111 in its 20 overs. Smriti Mandhana (59) and Shafali Verma (68) shared an opening stand of 129 in 12.5 overs before India spinner Shree Charani took 4-20 in four overs. Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu (36) was the top scorer for her team, sharing a 58-run partnership with Vishmi Gunaratne (20) before Sri Lanka collapsed from 62-1 to 111 all out off the last ball of the innings.

Elena Rybakina defeated defending champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Saturday to win her first US Open title and complete her rise to the top of the women’s world rankings. Rybakina had already secured the No. 1 ranking by reaching the semifinals, but capped her campaign by claiming the trophy Sabalenka had won in the previous two years. “It’s still so difficult to process what happened,” Rybakina said. “Too many achievements these few weeks.” The victory gave the 27-year-old her third Grand Slam title and second of the year. She also defeated Sabalenka in the Australian Open final earlier this season. Rybakina ended Sabalenka’s 19-match winning streak at the US Open. Sabalenka had not lost at Flushing Meadows since the 2023 final against Coco Gauff. Rybakina earned $5.5 million, the biggest prize in Grand Slam history, and joined Sabalenka and French Open champion Mirra Andreeva as the only players with three tour titles this season. Sabalenka, who received $2.8 million, was seeking to become the first woman since Serena Williams from 2012-14 to win three consecutive US Open titles. She smashed her racket after briefly embracing Rybakina at the net. “I was just out there competing, trying to do my best with what I had there today,” Sabalenka said. “Not good enough.” Although Rybakina struggled with her first serve, she consistently pressured Sabalenka with her returns. She earned 12 break points and converted three, enough to secure the victory. Rybakina’s win was the first time the lower-ranked player prevailed in a US Open women’s final between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds since 2000. Sabalenka had occupied the top ranking for 99 consecutive weeks, but Rybakina will take over on Monday. Born in Russia, Rybakina represents Kazakhstan. She won her first Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2022 and now needs only the French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam. Sabalenka acknowledged Rybakina’s powerful serve and ability to dictate play, particularly on the fast US Open courts. Rybakina had struggled at the US Open in previous years, never advancing beyond the fourth round before this tournament. She also briefly stopped playing during a quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek in Cincinnati because of a foot injury but recovered in time for New York. “I honestly was coming here for the last 10 years, and it was never successful — nothing close to that,” Rybakina said. “It’s just incredible. I’m falling in love with New York more and more.” Sabalenka had reached the US Open final four straight times and the semifinals six times, but her impressive run at Flushing Meadows ended with Saturday’s defeat. The Belarusian had won both of her previous meetings with Rybakina this season, at Indian Wells and Miami, and leads their career rivalry 10-8. Rybakina took the opening set after Sabalenka struggled with her serve and became increasingly frustrated. Sabalenka recovered in the second set, breaking Rybakina late to level the match, but Rybakina quickly regained control in the decider and completed the biggest victory of her career.

Lionel Messi scored his 19th MLS goal of the season, but Inter Miami were held to a 2-2 draw by Eastern Conference leaders Nashville on Saturday night. Messi put Miami ahead 2-1 with a left-footed strike in the 62nd minute, but Nashville’s Sam Surridge scored his second goal of the match in the first minute of stoppage time to secure a draw. The result extended Nashville’s unbeaten run against Miami to four matches this season and kept the club nine points ahead of second-placed Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference. Nashville took the lead in the fourth minute when Surridge converted Andy Najar’s pass for his 14th goal of the season. Miami equalized in the 19th minute when Nashville defender Reed Baker-Whiting put the ball into his own net from a corner. Messi went close in the 27th minute when his shot from outside the box was blocked, before sending a free kick wide. Rodrigo De Paul then set up Messi outside the penalty area in the second half, and the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner curled a left-footed shot into the bottom-left corner. Miami were seeking revenge after suffering a 4-1 defeat to Nashville on Aug. 15. Nashville had also knocked Miami out of the Concacaf Champions Cup earlier this season. Nashville will host Chicago Fire next Saturday, while Inter Miami will face Liga MX champions Cruz Azul on Wednesday in the Campeones Cup.

Host Germany reached the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup semifinals for the first time with a 93-74 victory over Belgium, while the United States overwhelmed Hungary 108-56 in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Germany recovered from an early five-point deficit and took control across the end of the opening quarter and start of the second, turning a 19-18 deficit into a 29-19 advantage with an 11-0 run. Belgium cut the deficit to 36-34 in the second quarter but could not regain the lead. Leonie Fiebich led Germany with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Nyara Sabally added 16 points and 12 boards. Alexis Peterson contributed 13 points and six assists without a turnover as Germany led for more than 31 minutes. Belgium power forward Emma Meesseman finished with a game-high 29 points and eight rebounds. The United States raced to a 36-12 first-quarter lead against Hungary and never looked back. Napheesa Collier scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in just over 15 minutes, while Rhyne Howard added 15 points and four steals. Caitlin Clark recorded 10 points and nine assists as the Americans, who led for more than 39 minutes, built its largest advantage of 55 points before completing a 52-point victory. France ended China's campaign with a 90-61 win after breaking away late in the opening quarter. Janelle Salaun and Marine Johannes scored 15 points apiece, with Johannes also handing out seven assists. Gabby Williams contributed 14 points and seven rebounds. Han Xu led China with 21 points and nine rebounds. Spain completed the semifinal lineup by defeating Australia 89-66. Spain established a 31-17 advantage in the opening quarter and led 58-37 at halftime. Megan Gustafson paced Spain with 16 points, while Iyana Martin added 14. Alex Wilson and Chloe Bibby scored 13 each for Australia. In Saturday's semifinals, Spain faces the United States, while Germany takes on France.

State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque on Thursday said Bangladeshi athletes must shift their mindset from mere participation to fighting for medals on global stages. “We do not want to go anywhere merely to participate; we will fight for medals, we must cultivate that mindset,” he said. State Minister Aminul rules out funding for a possible Brazil match in Dhaka He made these remarks while inaugurating the four-day Open Prize Money Table Tennis Ranking Tournament 2024, organised by the Bangladesh Table Tennis Federation (BTTF), at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed indoor stadium in the capital. “Whether it is the South Asian Games, the Asian Games, or the highest stage like the Olympics, we must train our players to be true competitors,” he added. The State Minister revealed that the ministry is rigorously reviewing the activities of athletes receiving state allowances every four months. “We have completed our latest four-month review. Based on the information I have, about 31 athletes are currently on a list to be replaced because they had no sporting activities or participation,” he said, adding that the verification process is ongoing. He said athletes must participate in a minimum of four national and three international tournaments to retain their stipends. He announced that table tennis will be officially included in the second edition of the nationwide 'Notun Kuri Sports' program. “We want to unearth table tennis talents not just from Dhaka, but from every upazila, district, and division. To facilitate this, we have already taken initiatives to provide at least one table tennis board to every Upazila Sports Association,” he said. The State Minister assured the athletes that a renovation project has been undertaken to install air conditioning and modernize the indoor stadium’s facilities shortly. The Open Prize Money Ranking Tournament, which will run until September 13, features singles events exclusively across four categories: Under-19 boys, Under-19 girls, men's, and women's. Through this competition, the ranking points from 2024 will be replaced to finalize an updated national ranking list.

ESPN recorded its highest viewership through the first three rounds of the US Open since Serena Williams last competed in the tournament in 2022, helped by the return of Serena and Venus Williams to doubles action. The network said Wednesday that its coverage on Friday, when the Williams sisters played a night match, averaged 1.1 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2. Viewership peaked at 2.2 million between 10 and 10:15 p.m. EDT as Serena and Venus lost to Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint in a match tiebreaker. Friday’s coverage marked a 17 percent increase from the same day last year. ESPN2 also averaged 1.1 million viewers on Saturday, up 37 percent from last year. Overall, the tournament averaged 846,000 viewers through the third round, making it the most-watched US Open at that stage since 2022.

Aryna Sabalenka survived a dramatic battle against Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova on Tuesday, winning 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) to reach the US Open semifinals and keep her bid for a third consecutive title alive. The world No. 1 was pushed to the limit by the sixth-seeded Czech before securing victory in a deciding-set match tiebreak. Sabalenka will next face third-seeded Jessica Pegula, who came from a set down to defeat No. 26 Emma Navarro 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Sabalenka defeated Pegula in the 2024 US Open final and also beat her in last year's semifinals after losing the opening set. The Belarusian sealed Tuesday's quarterfinal with an ace on her second serve, reaching the US Open semifinals for a sixth consecutive year. Noskova came close to completing an impressive run after winning her maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. She would have become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to follow a grass-court major title by reaching the US Open semifinals. Sabalenka appeared close to an early exit when Noskova broke in the third set to move 4-2 ahead. But the top seed immediately responded, breaking back at love to level the set at 4-4. The match went to a deciding tiebreak, where Noskova initially moved ahead 2-0. Sabalenka recovered after a double fault by Noskova gave her a 4-3 lead and then won the next two points to establish control. Noskova finished with 46 winners and 18 aces, compared with Sabalenka's 42 winners and 12 aces. Sabalenka had entered the tournament struggling for form on hard courts, losing in the fourth round in both Toronto and Cincinnati. She had also been eliminated at the same stage at Wimbledon. However, she had not dropped a set before Tuesday's quarterfinal. The result also kept alive Sabalenka's hopes of retaining the world No. 1 ranking, which she has held for 99 consecutive weeks. She will lose the top spot if second-ranked Elena Rybakina defeats Zheng Qinwen on Wednesday to reach the semifinals. If Rybakina loses, Sabalenka can retain the ranking by winning the US Open title. Tiafoe reaches men's semifinals In the men's quarterfinals, No. 11 seed Frances Tiafoe rallied from two sets down to defeat Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6). Tiafoe will meet either defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or eighth-seeded Ben Shelton in the semifinals. Their quarterfinal began shortly after 11 p.m. following a long day of matches. Pegula rallies past Navarro Pegula overcame a slow start against Navarro, who broke her twice in the opening set to take control. But the third-seeded American recovered in the final stages, winning four consecutive games after Navarro had taken a 2-1 lead in the deciding set. Pegula's victory set up another US Open meeting with Sabalenka, who will be seeking to maintain her dominance in New York. For Noskova, the defeat ended her best-ever US Open campaign. Before this year, her best Grand Slam performance was a quarterfinal appearance at the 2024 Australian Open.

Real Madrid and Manchester City began their Champions League campaigns with victories on Tuesday, with Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland leading the way for the European heavyweights. Record 15-time champions Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, while Manchester City, the 2023 champions, secured a 2-0 victory over Porto. Both clubs are expected to challenge defending champions Paris Saint-Germain this season, with Mbappe and Haaland likely to play key roles in their title bids. Mbappe opened the scoring after 14 minutes, taking his Champions League tally to 71 goals and moving level with Real Madrid legend Raul in fifth place on the competition's all-time scoring list. Haaland, meanwhile, scored twice against Porto to take his Champions League total to 59 goals in 59 appearances. Borussia Dortmund edged Villarreal 3-2, while Real Betis defeated Lille by the same score. Aston Villa also won 3-2 against Club Brugge, and AEK Athens beat LASK 1-0. Defending champion PSG will begin its title defense on Wednesday against Slovan Bratislava. Mourinho makes winning return Jose Mourinho marked his return to Champions League management with a victory as Real Madrid coach, despite Inter enjoying 61% possession. Madrid took advantage of two costly first-half mistakes by the Italian side. Inter lost possession deep in its own half, allowing Brahim Diaz to set up Mbappe, who fired a low shot past goalkeeper Josep Martinez. Martinez was again caught out when Federico Valverde pressured him inside the penalty area and poked the ball into an unguarded net. Inter reduced the deficit through Carlos Augusto in the 77th minute, setting up a tense closing period. “There’s so much criticism when a game is boring, but today it was crazy — it could easily have ended 7-6,” Mourinho said. Mourinho won the Champions League with Inter in 2010 and is seeking a third title as a coach. Haaland continues scoring form Haaland maintained his impressive scoring run against Porto, having scored five goals in his previous three matches. The Norwegian striker finally broke the deadlock two minutes after halftime, heading the ball into the net. He added a second in stoppage time with a side-footed finish to secure City's victory. The result also maintained new coach Enzo Maresca's perfect start. “We have to learn. Enzo demands a lot from us and we have to demand a lot from each other,” Haaland said. “We have to win games because at Man City, you have to win trophies.” Villa end poor start Aston Villa put their difficult start to the domestic season behind them with a 3-2 victory over Club Brugge in Belgium. John McGinn scored the opening goal of the Champions League campaign in the 11th minute with a low angled effort. Brugge equalized through Hugo Vetlesen, but Emiliano Buendia and Nicolas Jackson scored before halftime to give Villa a 3-1 lead. Nicolo Tresoldi pulled one back from the penalty spot in the 61st minute, but Villa held on. The victory ended Villa's winless and goalless start to the 2026-27 season following defeats by Brighton and Arsenal and a goalless draw with newly promoted Hull. Dortmund teenager hospitalized Dortmund teenager Konstantinos Karetsas was taken to hospital after collapsing during his Champions League debut against Villarreal. The German club said the 25-year-old? [Need correction: Karetsas is a teenager] — teenager had to leave the field because of circulatory problems and was sent to hospital for further tests. Serhou Guirassy scored twice for Dortmund and also put the ball into his own net as the German side secured a dramatic victory. Guirassy put Dortmund ahead 2-1 in the 80th minute and converted a penalty five minutes later. Villarreal pulled another goal back through an added-time own goal. Parrott scores again for Betis Ireland international Troy Parrott continued his impressive start at Real Betis by scoring the winner in their 3-2 victory over Lille. Parrott had also scored a late winner against Real Madrid in La Liga on Friday, making his latest goal another decisive contribution for his new club. AEK Athens secured their win over LASK through Razvan Marin's superb first-half free kick.  

FC Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal on Tuesday threw his hat into the ring to be a candidate for the Ballon d'Or award for the best footballer in the world which is given out at the end of October. Speaking to the press ahead of Barcelona's Champions League debut against Feyenoord on Wednesday night, the 19-year-old was asked about his chances of winning the award which is given by France Football magazine, a day after Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe also told the press this was a good year for him to win. Yamal won La Liga with Barcelona and the World Cup with Spain, but said winning the prestigious award "doesn't depend on me, it depends on you (the press)." "The work we've done with Barcelona and the national team has been incredible. I think I have a very good chance because I've had a great year, but we'll see," he replied when asked about his chances, adding that he didn't "need to campaign for the Ballon d'Or." "I'm proud of what I've done with my team and the national team. I'm not going to beg for anything," commented the forward. Yamal insisted that even though he was considered a 'star' player that didn't mean he could take things easy on the pitch. "If you don't run, any team can beat you. If we want to win, we have to run; if you don't run, you're going to lose," he commented, saying his aim for the team was "to win more titles, and personally, to keep growing and improving." "I'm very young," replied Yamal, who explained he was in the best moment of his short life. "I'm very happy; I'm 19, I just won a World Cup, and I had the vacation of my life. I've never been happier than I am right now," concluded Yamal. 

Bangladesh allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz is set to make his Caribbean Premier League (CPL) debut after joining Guyana Amazon Warriors as a replacement for Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi. Mehidy is not part of Bangladesh’s T20I squad for the Asian Games in Japan and will be available for Amazon Warriors for the rest of the CPL season. Nabi is leaving the tournament to join Afghanistan for a three-match T20I series against India starting September 13. He has been a key part of Amazon Warriors’ campaign, taking 12 wickets in six innings at an economy rate of under six. Amazon Warriors have won 10 of their 11 matches across the CPL and the Global Super League and have already qualified for the playoffs. Mehidy was previously signed by Trinbago Knight Riders as a replacement player in 2017 but did not play a match. He will now get another chance to appear in the CPL, nine years after his first involvement in the tournament. Amazon Warriors will also lose Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who is leaving for the national team. Gurbaz scored 93 runs in two innings this season, including 54 off 35 balls against Jamaica Kingsmen and 39 off 25 balls against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris will replace Gurbaz. He has already played for Amazon Warriors this year, turning out for them in the Global Super League. Amazon Warriors can also bring Glenn Phillips back into the XI and use Shai Hope as wicketkeeper. Guyana batter Matthew Nandu is another option to open the innings.