United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh, the champions of 2018 Women’s Cup Cricket, will play their ginat rival and the 8th times champions India, in the first semifinal of the eigh-nation Women’s T20 Asia Cup Cricket’2024 in Dambullah, Sri Lanka on Friday (July 26) . The first semifinal match will kick-off at 2:30 pm Bnagladesh time at the Rangiri Dambullah International Stadium in the Island nation while hosts Sri Lanka, the champions of Group B,  will face the Group A runners-up Pakistan in the 2nd semifinal also on Friday (July 26) at 7:30 pm. The final match of the 9th version of the meet between two winning semifinalists will kick-off at 3 pm on July 28 at the4 same venue,    Bangladesh reached the semifinal as the Group B runners up securing four points from three group matches beating Malaysia by a massive 114 runns, defeated Thailand by seven wickets after conceding seven wickets defeat to hosts Sri Lanka in the first match. India smartly the qualified for the semifinal as the Group A champions with all win record securing full six points from straight three group matches beating their arch-rivals Pakistan by seven wickets,  outplaying UAE by 78 runs and beat Nepal by 82 runs.

Bangladesh will start their campaign in the 33rd Olympic Games, Paris 2024, with archer Sagor Islam competing in the men's ranking round archery on Thursday. Sagor Islam is only the 3rd Bangladeshi athlete ever to qualify directly for the Olympics Games directly after golfer Siddikur Rahman and archer Ruman Shana. Sagor Islam will also compete in the men's individual elimination round on July 30. Shooter Rabiul Islam of Bangladesh will appear in the qualification round of the men's 10-meter air rifles on July 28. Bangladeshi swimmer Samiul Islam Rafi will compete in the men's 100- meter freestyle heats also on July 30. Meanwhile, a 13-member contingent will represent Bangladesh in the Paris Olympics 2024, the biggest sports extravaganza on earth, scheduled to be held in France's capital Paris from July 26 to August 11. Some 20,714 athletes from 206 countries around the world will compete in 32 sports disciplines in the battle for 329 medals. The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics Games 2024 will be held in the Paris River Seine on July 26. Ace archer Mohammad Sagor Islam, who directly qualified for the Paris Olympics, will also carry the Bangladesh national flag in the march past the opening ceremony. The Bangladesh contingent, which consists of five athletes and eight officials, will compete in four disciplines of sports: archery, athletics, swimming, and shooting. M. Sagor Islam will compete in archery, M Samiul Islam Rafi and Sonia Khatun in swimming, and Bangladesh's fastest man, Imranur Rahman, in athletics.

The SAFF Women’s champions Bangladesh Football team made a flying start in the two-match FIFA International Women’s Football (Tier-1) Series outplaying hosts Bhutan by 5-1 goals at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu Wednesday evening. Youthful Bangladesh Women’s Football team, which playing the two-match FIFA International Series as a part of their preparation for the ensuing SAFF Women’s Championship to be held in Nepal next October, will play their remaining match on July 27 at the same venue. This was the 3rd consecutive victory for the Bangladesh National Women’s team against Bhutan after beating the Himalayan nation by 9-0 goals in the first SAFF Women’s Championship in Cox’s Bazar in 2010 and beat them by 8-0 goals in Kathmandu in 2022 on way to clinch their first-ever  SAFF Women’s Championship. Experienced forward Sabina Khatun-led Bangladesh women’s team dominated the first half by 1-0 goal. This time Bangladesh were forced to field an youthful women’s team without key players like Tohura Khatun, Shamsunnahar Jr, Afeida Khondakar, Shaheda Akter Ripa for the HSC exam and Krishna Rani Sarkar and Aklima Khatun for injury. Earlier, Bangladesh Women’s team, under their new British Head Coach Peter James Butler, played a two-match preparatory series in Dhaka against the Chinese Taipei and lost both the matches by 0-4 and 0-1 goal respectively.  

In their third match in the Women’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh beat Malaysia by 114 runs. It was Bangladesh’s second win in the tournament.  In their first two matches, against Sri Lanka and Thailand, Bangladesh beat Thailand but lost to Sri Lanka. Bangladesh won the toss on Wednesday in Dambulla and opted to bat first.  Read more: Shathira Jakir Jessy: First Bangladeshi Woman to Become an International Umpire Opener Murshida Khatun and captain Nigar Sultana proved the decision of batting first as justified, hitting a 50 each. While Murshida hit 80 with 10 fours, Nigar scored 62 with five fours and two sixes.  Riding on their excellent batting show, Bangladesh posted 191 for two.  In reply, Malaysia managed only 77 for eight in 20 overs and suffered a heavy defeat.  Nahida Akter took two wickets for Bangladesh. Read more: ACC Women's T20 Asia Cup 2024: Match Fixtures, Schedule, Groups, and Teams

A 13-member contingent will represent Bangladesh in the 33rd Olympic Games, (Paris Olympics'2024), the biggest sports extravaganza on earth, scheduled for France's capital Paris from July 26 to August 11. Some 20,714 athletes from 206 countries around the world will compete in 32 sports disciplines in the battle for 329 medals. The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics Games 2024 will be held in the Paris River Seine on July 26. The Bangladesh contingent, which consists of five athletes and eight officials, will compete in four disciplines of sports: archery, athletics, swimming, and shooting. M. Sagor Islam will compete in archery, M Samiul Islam Rafi and Sonia Khatun in swimming, and Bangladesh's fastest man, Imranur Rahman, in athletics. Secretary General of the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA), Syed Shaheed Reza, disclosed the details at a press conference at the Dutch-Bangla Auditorium of BOA on Thursday. BOA vice president Sheikh Bashir Ahmed and joint secretary and chef de mission of the Bangladesh contingent for the Paris Olympics, Intekhabul Hamid Apu, also spoke on the occasion. The first batch of Bangladesh contingents, with the archer, shooter, and their officials, will leave the capital on Saturday (July 20), followed by the athletics and swimming teams on July 23 and 24, respectively. The Bangladesh contingent will start their Olympics campaign on July 25, with Sagor Islam competing in an archery event. Ace archer Mohammad Sagor Islam, who directly qualified for the Paris Olympics, will also carry the Bangladesh national flag in the march past the opening ceremony. The General Secretary of the Bangladesh Shooting Sports Federation and BOA joint secretary, Intekhabul Hamid Apu, was named as the chef de mission of the Bangladesh contingent.

Dhaka Abahani Limited emerged champions in the nine- team BFF Under-18 Football League' 2023-24 with one match to spare beating Bangladesh Police FC 1-0 at the practice ground of Bashundhara Kings Arena here Tuesday evening. Forward Yeasin Arafat Sifat scored the match winning goal for the sky-blue Dhanmondi outfit Abahani in the 17th minute (1-0). With the day's well merited victory, the sky-blue Dhanmondi outfit Abahani assured the league crown with an all-win record securing a full 21 points from straight seven league encounters. Six times BPL champions Dhaka Abahani Senior football team, which failed to clinch the  league title since the emergence of Bashundhara Kings in 2918, finally overcame their long trophy drought by winning the BFF U-18 football crown with the brilliant performances of their Junior team. Dhaka Abahani will play their last league match against Sheikh Russel KC on Friday (July 19) at the Mohammadpur Physical Education College ground, the result of which will not affect their league title. On way to the league crown, Dhaka Abahani beat  Fortis FC 2-0, Sheikh Jamal DC 2-1, Brothers Union 2-0,  Rahmatganj MFS 4-1,  Bashundhara Kings 2-1 and Dhaka Mohammedan SC by 3-1 goals In another match, season's treble winners Bashundhara Kings shared points with Dhaka Mohammedan SC in a goalless draw at the Mohammadpur Physical Education College ground Tuesday afternoon. Shohel Hossain Rana of the Kings got marching order after receiving double yellow cards in the match. The day's other match between Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Rahmatganj MFS ended in 1-1 draw at the Armed Police Battalion ground in Uttara on Tuesday. Ariful put Sheikh Jamal ahead in the 19th minute (1-0) while Delwar restored the parity for Rahmatganj MFS in the added time (90+3 minute) of the match (1-1).

The Sheikh Russel 20th National Long Distance Swimming Competition ' 2024, organized by Bangladesh Swimming Federation (BSF) and sponsored by Bangladesh Navy, will be held on Thursday (July 18) on the river Modhumoti in the Gopalganj District. The 15-kilometer long men's competition with the participation of six swimmers,  will start from Bailtolly bridge area of River Modhumoti at 9 am and will conclude at Haridaspur bridge area. The 10-kilometer long women's competition to be participated also by six swimmers, will start from Karpara area of the river and will conclude at  the same point ---Haridaspur bridge area. BSF President and Chief of Bangladesh Navy Admiral M Nazmul Hasan will be the chief guest at the Thursday's closing function at the Sheikh Moni Auditorium of Gopalganj Shilpakala Academy and later he will distribute the prizes. The champion, runner-up and 3rd place winning  swimmers of both the men's and women's groups  will be awarded with gold, silver and bronze medals respectively along with certificates and prize money. Besides, the swimmers, who successfully completed the event, will also be given consolation prizes.

The Sheikh Russel 20th National Long Distance Swimming Competition ' 2024, organized by Bangladesh Swimming Federation (BSF) and sponsored by Bangladesh Navy, will be held on Thursday (July 18) on the river Modhumoti in the Gopalganj District. The 15-kilometer long men's competition with the participation of six swimmers, will start from Bailtolly bridge area of River Modhumoti at 9 am and will conclude at Haridaspur bridge area. The 10-kilometer long women's competition to be participated also by six swimmers, will start from Karpara area of the river and will conclude at the same point ---Haridaspur bridge area. BSF President and Chief of Bangladesh Navy Admiral M Nazmul Hasan will be the chief guest at the Thursday's closing function at the Sheikh Moni Auditorium of Gopalganj Shilpakala Academy and later he will distribute the prizes. The champion, runner-up and 3rd place winning swimmers of both the men's and women's groups will be awarded with gold, silver and bronze medals respectively along with certificates and prize money. Besides, the swimmers, who successfully completed the event, will also be given consolation prizes.

Tawhid Hridoy and Shoriful Islam, two stars of the Bangladesh national cricket team, took to social media to urge an end to the bloodshed surrounding the ongoing student protests. The protests, demanding reform of the quota system in civil service jobs, saw one death on Tuesday in Rangpur. Three killed in clash between quota protesters and BCL in Chattogram Three killed in clash between quota protesters and BCL in Chattogram The situation turned violent on Monday when protesters were allegedly attacked by members of the ruling party's student wing, the Bangladesh Chhatra League. Tawhid, a right-handed batter, was the first national cricketer to address the protests. He wrote on his social media page: "I've been away from everything, so I haven't seen much. My beloved Dhaka University, may it not bleed anymore," accompanied by a broken heart emoji. TIB condemns “cowardly use” of force on peaceful quota reform movement of students TIB condemns “cowardly use” of force on peaceful quota reform movement of students Shoriful, a left-arm pacer, also expressed his feelings about the violence, which has left at least a few hundred wounded in the last two days. "Assalamu Alaikum. I am a cricketer, but I am also a student. I don't want to see the blood of any more students shed," he wrote on his social media page, accompanied by two broken heart emojis. Quota protesters block Dhaka-Chittagong highway, railway. Quota protesters block Dhaka-Chittagong highway, railway Tawhid and Shoriful are the first cricketers to speak out about the ongoing violence. Before them, Ayman Sadiq, the CEO of Bangladesh's largest edutech company, 10 Minute School, also expressed similar sentiments. However, within a day of his statement, the tech CEO lost a $5 million investment proposal from a government-sponsored investment firm.

While men’s cricket gets a lot of attention, the history of women in cricket is also no less impressive. The first recorded instance of women in cricket goes back to 1745 and the first Women’s One Day International (WODI) was played in 1934. Over the years, the participation and fan following surrounding women’s cricket has only increased, and one of our very own has taken the flag to new heights. We’re talking about none other than Shathira Jakir Jessy, the first Bangladeshi woman to become an international umpire.  Early Life  Shathira Jakir Jessy was born in 1990 in Lalmonirhat. Her father, a banker, and mother, a head teacher, were very supportive of her love for cricket. Through her mother, Jessy first got into Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) in shooting as women’s cricket wasn’t offered by BKSP at that time.  Over the years, Jessy persisted and when women’s cricket finally took off in 2007, Jessy found her calling. And the rest is history.  Read more: Women's Asia Cup: Bangladesh aim for semifinal spot Career Overview  Table: Shathira Jakir Jessy’s Cricket Career at a Glance Competition Matches Runs Scored  Top Score  Ball Bowled Wickets WODI 2 1 1 22 0 WT20I 1 - - - - WLA 9 133 62 342 15 WT20 13 57 22* 270 17 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shathira_Jakir