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Sheikh Russel 4th Teer National Youth Archery begins Sunday
The Sheikh Russel 4th Teer National Youth Archery Championship 2022, under "Teer Go for Gold" project, began on Sunday (Oct 16) in the Archery Training Centre at Shaheed Ahsanullah Master Stadium in Tongi.
President of Bangladesh Archery Federation (BAF) Lt Gen M Moinul Islam (retd) inaugurated the meet in the morning, sponsored by City Group. BAF general secretary Kazi Rajibuddin Ahmed Chapal and convenor of the organizing committee Rashiduzzaman Serniabat were also present on the occasion.
Qualifying round matches of the three categories of recurve events--junior. cadet, youngsters and two categories of compound events--junior and cadet were decided on the first day.
T20 World Cup: Netherlands make good start beating UAE in low-scoring thriller
The Netherlands made a good start in a Group A match of the T20 World Cup first phase beating United Arab Emirates by three wickets with one ball left at the GMHBA Stadium in South Geelong on Sunday.
In the day's low scoring match, UAE batted first after winning the toss and folded their innings at 111 runs for 8, featuring opener Muhammad Waseem's 47-ball 41 runs with the help of one four and two sixes.
Besides, Vriitya Aravind (18), Kashif Daud (15) and opener Chirag Suri (12) were the other notable scorers for the Emirates team.
Bas De Leede grabbed three wickets for 19 runs in his three over spell and was adjudged player of the match while Fred Klaassen took two wickets for 13 runs in four overs.
Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Namibia stuns in opening match by beating Sri Lanka
In reply, the Netherlands reached their target of 112 for the loss of seven wickets in 19. 5 overs, featuring opener Max O'Dowd's 18-ball 23 runs with three hits to the fence and one over the fence.
Colin Ackermann (17), captain Scott Ewards (16), Tim Pringle (not out 16), Bas De Leede (14) and Vikramjit Singh (10) were the other notable scorer for the Netherlands reaching the double figures.
Junaid Siddiqui claimed three wickets for 24 runs in his four over spell and was adjudged most valuable player of the match.
BFF U-18 Football: Bashundhara Kings play out goalless draw with Dhaka Abahani
Bashundhara Kings played to a goalless draw with Dhaka Abahani Limited in the BFF U-18 Football League here on Sunday.
In the day's other match, Chittagong Abahani Limited outplayed Swadhinata Krira Sangha by 4-0 goals, featuring hattrick by Shahadat.
Shahadat completed a hattrick scoring three goals in the 15th, 88th and 91st minutes while Rahman netted the other goal for the port city team in the 57th minute. In the Bashundhara Group 2nd Division League, Purbachal Parishad beat Jatrabari Krira Chakra by 3-0 goals on Sunday.
Mohammad Newaj struck twice while Etun Kanti Dey netted the other goal.
The day's another league match between City Club and Alamgir Samaj Kallyan Sangsad ended in a goalless draw.
Ballon d'Or 2022: Favourites, award venue, date, where to watch live
The 66th edition of the prestigious Ballon d'Or 2022 is all set to take place on Monday (October 17) at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have dominated the award for the last one and a half decades, are not in the race for the coveted prize this year. Let’s take a look at who is favourite to win the award and where to watch it live, including the award ceremony date and venue.
Who is expected to win the Ballon d'Or 2022 and the nominees
Argentine superstar Lionel Andres Messi, who has won the award a record seven times, didn't make the top 30 nominees. Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi's main rival and the five-time winner of the trophy, made the list but is not seen as one of the favourites this time.
Read: Mbappe transfer: Possible destinations if he leaves in Jan 2023
Real Madrid’s French forward Karim Benzema is overwhelmingly favourite to win the Ballon d'Or 2022 after an illuminating season with Real Madrid. Benzema was a pivotal figure for the Spanish giants in winning both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League in the 2021–2022 season. Had Benzema not been a part of the Madrid side, they wouldn’t have won any trophies last season. Karim is likely to become the first Frenchman to win the award since the great Zinedine Zidane won it in 1998.
Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, Manchester City’s midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane, and Benzema’s Real Madrid colleagues Vinicius Junior and Thibaut Courtois are among the favourites to finish in the top three in the list.
Mohamed Salah had a great season with English club Liverpool in the 2021–2022 season, netting 31 goals in 51 matches. He helped Liverpool to win three trophies: the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the Community Shield. Sadio Mane was a pivotal figure for Liverpool in their attacking half last season. He netted 23 goals in 51 appearances for the Reds.
On the other hand, Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne has been the best midfielder in the Premier League in the last few seasons. Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois was brilliant under the goalpost and was one of their main star players in the 2021–2022 season. Besides, Vinicius Junior has become a real revolution for Madrid since last season.
The players who have nominated for the Ballon d’or 2022 award
Thibaut Courtois (Belgium, Real Madrid), Rafael Leao (Portugal, AC Milan), Christopher Nkunku (France, RB Leipzig), Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Manchester City), Casemiro (Brazil, Real Madrid), Heung-Min Son (South Korea, Tottenham), Fabinho (Brazil, Liverpool), Kylian Mbappe (France, Paris Saint-Germain), Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool), Joshua Kimmich (Germany, Bayern Munich), Trent Alexander-Arnold (England, Liverpool), Vinicius Junior (Brazil, Real Madrid), Bernardo Silva (Portugal, Manchester City), Luis Diaz (Colombia, Liverpool), Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Barcelona), Mike Maignan (France, AC Milan), Harry Kane (England, Tottenham Hotspur), Darwin Nunez (Uruguay, Liverpool), Phil Foden (England, Manchester City), Sadio Mane (Senegal, Bayern Munich), Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast, Borussia Dortmund), Luka Modric (Croatia, Real Madrid), Antonio Rudiger (Germany, Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Manchester United), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium, Manchester City), Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands, Liverpool), Dusan Vlahovic (Serbia, Juventus), Joao Cancelo (Portugal, Manchester City)
Apart from the Ballon d'Or for men, the French Football magazine also gives awards for other categories. The most notable ones are: the best female player, the best goalkeeper, and the best young player of the previous season.
Read: Maradona's 'Hand of God' ball expected to rake in $2.7m-$3.3m at auction
Who is the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or Feminin 2022?
Twenty female footballers have been nominated for the prestigious award. Barcelona’s Spanish midfielder, Alexia Putellas, is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or Feminin 2022 award. Beth Mead, the champion of the EURO 2022 tournament for England; Sam Kerr, an Australian forward for Chelsea; Wendie Reynard, a French defender for Lyon; and Ada Hegerberg, a Norwegian forward, are all among the favourites to win the award.
Who has the edge to take home the Kopa Trophy 2022?
The Kopa Trophy has been given to a player who is under the age of 21 since 2018. Kylian Mbappe, Matthijs de Ligt and Pedri were the previous winners. 10 players have been nominated for this year’s award, with 3 German representatives in the list.
Borussia Dortmund’s English midfielder Jude Bellingham is currently the top favourite to win the Kopa Trophy 2022 after a stellar performance with the club last season. Besides Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga, Barcelona’s Gavi, Paris Saint-Germain’s Nuno Mendes and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka are among the favourites.
Who has the best chances to win the Yashin Trophy 2022?
The Yashin Trophy has been awarded to the best goalkeeper of the previous season since 2019. Brazil’s Alisson and Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma were the past winners. Ten players have been nominated for this year’s award, where Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois is a strong favourite to win it. Besides, Alisson and Edouard Mendy also have a fair chance to win the Yashin Trophy 2022.
Read: Neymar faces fraud trial for Barcelona transfer from Santos
When will the 66th edition of the Ballon d'Or take place?
The 2022 Ballon d'Or award ceremony will be held in the evening on October 17 (Monday) in France, which is 12.30 a.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time) on Tuesday. The event will take place at the famous Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
Where to watch the 2022 Ballon d'Or live?
The 2022 Ballon d'Or award ceremony will be broadcast live on France's leading sporting daily newspaper, L'Equipe’s YouTube channel, and website. L'Equipe YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyIV8rkza5Uk_sJIhqilBvQL'Equipe website: https://www.lequipe.fr/
Verdict
The nominees for the annual award ceremony of the French Football magazine were revealed on August 12. Karim Benzema's winning the Ballon d'Or 2022 is all but guaranteed after a standout 2021–2022 season with Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid. Therefore, the main attraction would be to see who made the podium (top 3).
Read: Forbes Highest-paid Footballers 2022: Mbappe overtakes Messi, Ronaldo
Neymar faces fraud trial for Barcelona transfer from Santos
Five years since Neymar put a tumultuous end to his career at Barcelona, the Brazil forward will be tried in Spain to determine whether he and others committed fraud when he joined the Catalan club from Santos back in 2013.
In a trial starting Monday in Barcelona, Neymar, his father, and the former leaderships of both Barcelona and Brazilian club Santos face charges of fraud and unfair competition. They are accused of hiding the real cost of his transfer with the goal of not paying money that DIS, a private Brazilian company, says it is owed as the rightful owners of 40% of Neymar's player rights.
DIS is asking for Neymar, his father, also called Neymar and who acts as his agent, and former Barcelona executives Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu to be jailed for five years.
All the accused have denied any wrongdoing.
The trial is expected to last until the end of October, with the World Cup opening on Nov. 21 in Qatar. Neymar will be obliged to attend unless the judge grants him permission to miss a session.
The lawyers for the plaintiffs argue that DIS only received its due percentage from the 17 million euros ($16.5 million) that Barcelona and Santos initially announced as the transfer fee between the clubs, while the real cost was some 82 million euros ($79.7 million). An investigative judge in Spain has already said that the real cost was at least 83.3 million euros ($81 million).
“Neymar the player, with the complicity of his parents, and of Barcelona and its executives at the time, and of Santos at a later date, defrauded the legitimate economic interests of DIS, cheating not only the company but violating the confidence that had been placed in him,” Paulo M. Nasser, lawyer for DIS, said.
DIS and Spanish state prosecutors accuse Rosell of making an extra payment of 40 million euros ($38.8 million) directly to Neymar and his family, of which DIS received nothing, to secure his move to Camp Nou. Nasser compared that payment to a “bribe” that distorted the free market and hurt the chances of other clubs to sign Neymar. Real Madrid was also pushing hard to sign Neymar while he was at Santos, and Madrid president Florentino Pérez is expected to testify via video conference at the trial.
DIS, which owns a chain of supermarkets in the São Paulo region, also accuses Santos of hiding an additional 12 million euros ($11.6 million) that it received from Barcelona for Neymar. DIS alleges that extra money was hidden in two allegedly fake contracts, one for a friendly between Barcelona and Santos and another granting Barcelona first dibs on the transfer of other Santos players.
DIS said that it acquired rights to receive 40% of a future Neymar transfer back in 2009 when it paid Neymar’s family 5 million Brazilian reals, then the equivalent of 2 million euros ($1.94 million). Nasser said that deal was signed by Neymar’s family and the owners of DIS, the brothers Delcir and Idi Sonda, “the day before Neymar debuted with Santos’ first team.”
Nasser is also representing a Brazilian players association, whose solidarity fund to help current and former players was funded by collecting 0.8% of transfers.
Nasser said that DIS was seeking justice in Spain instead of Brazil since, in their view, the majority of the alleged irregularities occurred in the European country.
State prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence and a fine of 10 million euros ($9.7 million) for Neymar. In Spain, sentences of less than two years for first offences can be suspended, as occurred in the tax fraud case against Lionel Messi, Neymar's former Barcelona teammate, and his father.
For Rosell, prosecutors want five years of prison time and the same 10 million euro fine. The former president of Santos, Odilio Rodrigues, is facing a three-year prison sentence. Prosecutors are not going after Bartomeu, who was then a Barcelona vice-president before succeeding Rosell when he stepped down as scrutiny of the Neymar deal increased.
DIS lawyers are seeking five-year jail terms for the 30-year-old Neymar and his father. For Rosell as well as Bartomeu, DIS wants five years of prison time. DIS is also seeking compensation of 34 million euros ($33 million) and a fine of 195 million euros ($189.5 million) that would be paid by the accused to the Spanish state.
Neymar made his highly anticipated move to Spain at age 21 amid massive fanfare. While he thrilled fans with outrageous goals and helped win the club’s last Champions League title, Neymar became a chronic headache for the club, including the soap opera of an exit to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 that Bartomeu did everything he could to stop.
Neymar's move from Santos also got Barcelona in trouble with Spain’s tax office. In 2016, Barcelona paid a fine of 5.5 million euros to settle a separate case brought by authorities. In that settlement, the club acknowledged it had made “an error in the fiscal planning of the player’s transfer.”
T20 World Cup 2022: Namibia stuns in opening match by beating Sri Lanka
T20 World Cup started with a big upset — Namibia beat Sri Lanka by 55 runs in the opening match of the biggest T20 event on Sunday in Victoria.
In the First Round Group A match, Sri Lanka won the toss and sent Namibia to bat first.
Read:T20 World Cop 2022: In opening match, Sri Lanka wins toss, bowling first against Namibia
Namibia lost their first two wickets inside 16 runs. Despite this early damage, they managed to score 163 for seven.
Jan Frylinck smashed 44 off 28 balls and Johannes Smit scored 31 off 16 deliveries.
For Sri Lanka, Pramod Madushan bagged two wickets and other four bowlers took a wicket each.
In reply, Sri Lanka lost four wickets before posting 50 on the board. Three of Sri Lanka's top five batters failed to reach a double-digit total. Captain Dasun Shanka scored 29, but his effort was not enough to avoid a defeat for Sri Lanka.
Read: Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2022 Squad: Who’s in, who’s out?
It was a big upset for the Lankans to suffer a defeat to Namibia. Sri Lanka have recently won the T20 Asia Cup in the UAE.
A total of 16 trams are taking part in the T20 World Cup. Eight teams are participating in the first round. Four of them will qualify for the Super 12s.
T20 World Cop 2022: In opening match, Sri Lanka wins toss, bowling first against Namibia
Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bowl first against Namibia in the opening match of the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday.
The Netherlands will play United Arab Emirates in the second match of the qualifying tournament, also in Geelong, which will determine four teams to advance to the main event starting later this week.
Sri Lanka, the T20 World Cup champions in 2014, sustained a big blow on the eve of the tournament when left-arm fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka was ruled out with a quadriceps injury.
Lineups:
Namibia: Divan la Cock, Michael van Lingen, Stephan Baard, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (captain), Jan Frylinck, J.J. Smit, David Wiese, Zane Green, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo .
Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Where to watch live in Bangladesh via TV, OTT, and apps
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan.
Umpires: Joe Wilson, West Indies, and Rod Tucker, Australia.
TV umpire: Paul Reiffel, Australia; Match Referee: Andy Pycroft, Zimbabwe
Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2022 Squad: Who’s in, who’s out?
There was a strong chance of a few adjustments in the final Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2022 squad when the selectors made the announcement last month. As expected, Soumya Sarkar and Shoriful Islam have been included in the team in place of Sabbir Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin. Let’s have a look at how strong the Tigers' twenty20 setup is for the main event.
Why has the BCB included Soumya and Shoriful in the World Cup squad?
All-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin and hard-hitter Sabbir Rahman were excluded from the Bangladesh squad to make way for opener Soumya Sarkar and pacer Shoriful Islam.In light of Saifuddin and Sabbir's recent series performances, is dropping them justified? There are no noteworthy performances that support any of the players.
Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Where to watch live in Bangladesh via TV, OTT, and apps
Saifuddin has the lowest economy rate (10.51) in the last two international series in the UAE and New Zealand. Sabbir Rahman, on the other hand, has the lowest strike rate (86.66) among batters. Therefore, leaving them out of the final squad was the right move.
What about Soumya Sarkar and Shoriful Islam? Do they deserve to be in the squad? Soumya played only two matches and scored 27 runs with a strike rate of 128.57, while Shoriful Islam picked up five wickets in four innings with an economy rate of 8.45 in the most recent two Twenty20 International series. Clearly, the latter has a more solid reason and has proved that he is among the best pacers in Bangladesh at the moment.
Soumya’s case is a bit different. The selectors always wanted a left-handed batter in the lineup. But Soumya’s constant failure on the international stage had forced the think tanks to keep him among the standby players.
Someone from the initial main squad had to play badly to make way for Soumya. Unfortunately, that cricketer was Sabbir Rahman, who once again failed to impress the selectors with the bat. But why was Soumya picked despite showing virtually nothing in the two matches he played in the tri-nation series? One valid reason is his track record on fast, bouncy pitches.
Soumya’s bat usually shines when playing on hard pitches. His 153.98 strike rate in T20Is on New Zealand wickets is the best among the Bangladesh players. He is the second-most run scorer (174) in the Twenty20 format among the Bangladesh players in New Zealand. It’s not unknown that Australian conditions will be quite similar to New Zealand's.
Read: ICC T20 World Cup begins Sunday
The selectors' expectation of Soumya is that he will show his true potential in the top-order during the T20 World Cup 2022. Can Soumya fulfill the expectations? That will soon be revealed, but no one can deny the fact that the BCB has a clear reason to pick him up for the squad.
Bangladesh’s twenty20 World Cup 2022 squad at a glance
Apart from making two chances, the rest of the squad remains the same for Bangladesh. The Tigers have five genuine batters, four all-rounders, and six bowlers in the squad. Shakib Al Hasan will lead the Bangladesh team during the World Cup and wicket-keeper Nurul Hasan Sohan will act as his deputy.
The most in-form batter is Litton Das, who has 180 runs in the past 6 innings with a strike rate of 140.62. Afif Hossain is in second position with 159 runs in 6 innings, followed by Shakib Al Hasan with 154 runs in 3 innings with a magnificent strike rate of 150.98.
Among the bowlers, pacer Shoriful Islam bagged the most wickets with five in the last two international series. Hasan Mahmud, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, and Ebadot Hossain all had decent outings in the previous two series with satisfactory economy rates.
Bangladesh will play their first Super 12 match against the runner-up of Group A on October 24. Three days later, on October 27, they will face South Africa. Bangladesh’s third match will be against the Group B winner on October 30. After that, the Tigers will take on India on November 2 and finish their group stage fixtures with a match against Pakistan on November 6.
Read: Bangladesh add Soumya, Shoriful to T20 World Cup squad
Bangladesh's 15-man Twenty20 World Cup 2022 squad
Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Soumya Sarkar, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali, Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam
Way Forward
Despite Bangladesh's lackluster recent T20 international record, the selectors made an effort to assemble the strongest team for the T20 World Cup 2022. Captain Shakib Al Hasan has to work on boosting the players' confidence so they can give it their all on the field. Bangladesh can have a decent success if the players are able to meet the expectations during the tournament.
Read: T20 World Cup 2022: What's the best possible line-up for Bangladesh?
India reclaim Women's Asia Cup crown
India lifted the title of the Women's Asia Cup 2022 after hammering Sri Lanka in the final by eight wickets in Sylhet Saturday.
The women in blue won a record-extending seventh Asia Cup title after losing it to Bangladesh in 2018.
In the final, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. But they managed to score 65-9 in 20 overs. Six of their first batters failed to reach a double-digit.
Inoka Ranaweera, Sri Lanka's No. 10, was the top run (18) scorer for the islanders.
Read: Women’s Asia Cup: Bangladesh endure shocking defeat to Sri Lanka
For India, Renuka Singh bagged three wickets, Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad scalped two each.
It took the women in blue only 8.3 overs to win the match. Smriti Mandhana scored 51.
"We should give credit to the bowlers. And the fielding unit was very good today from ball one," Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur said after the match. "We didn't want to give them easy runs as every ball is important, proud of the way we performed today."
Renuka won the player of the final award and Deepti Sharma player of the tournament trophy.
"Tough day as a team, not a good batting display in the final; I'm really upset today," Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu said. "Next we have the T20 World Cup, and we learned a lot from this tournament. And as a batting unit, we have to stick to our plans."
In the last edition of the Women's Asia Cup, Bangladesh beat India in the final to lift their maiden title. But this year, Bangladesh failed to qualify for the semis.
ICC T20 World Cup begins Sunday
The wait is finally over— the ICC T20 World Cup is all set to begin on Sunday with the match between Sri Lanka and Namibia at 10 am (Bangladesh time).
A total of 16 teams are participating in the T20 World Cup. In the first phase, eight teams will lock horns. The top four of them will qualify for the Super 12s round of the event. Bangladesh will directly take part in the Super 12s.
The Tigers will start their World Cup by taking on the runners-up of Group A of the first round on October 24 in Hobart.
Bangladesh team has already reached Australia after their horrible campaign in the Tri-Series in New Zealand where it lost all four matches against the hosts and Pakistan.
Ahead of the event, the captains of all the participating teams have a media session in Melbourne where they had a great meeting with each other. Captains took part in photo sessions and answered the questions of the media representatives.
While replying to a question, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said they are hopeful of doing well in Australia. He also said this is the first time when Bangladesh are going to play T20I matches in Australia— the fact that made many surprised.
T20 cricket became an international format back in 2006, and after 16 years, Bangladesh are going to play their first T20I in Australia— of course, a surprising fact!
Bangladesh made two changes to their original T20 World Cup squad— adding Soumya Sarkar and Shoriful Islam overlooking underperforming batter Sabbir Rahman and allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin.
Ahead of the main event, Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan and South Africa in two warm-up matches on October 17 and 19. Both matches will be played at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.
India, Pakistan, England and Australia are among the favourites to win this year’s T20 World Cup, according to the analyst.