United News of Bangladesh

Bangladeshi candidate master (CM) Sakline Mustafa Sajid emerged unbeaten Champions in Under- 14 group of the 7th Western Asian Youth Chess Championship'2024 now being held in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Monday. After the day's 9th and last round match, Sajid assured the U-14 group crown securing seven points after making a draw with his Kazakhstan rival. Sr Division Football: Sadharan Bima CSC beat Mugda Samaj Kallyan Sangsad With the day's feat, CM Sajid also achieved the Fide Master title. Meanwhile, Bangladesh national chess champions Manon Reja Neer finished runner-up in the Under-18 age group of blitz chess.

Sadharan Bima Corporation SC beat Mugda Samaj Kallyan 0 Krira Sangsad by 2-0 goals in the Bashundhara Group Senior (First) Division Football League 2023-24 at the Bir Sherestha Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Dhaka's Kamalapur on Monday afternoon. In the day's match, Golam Sarwar put the insurance men's team ahead in the very 4th minute (1-0), while Ujjal Hossain confirmed the Sadharan Bima victory by scoring one more goal in the 61st minute (2-0). Sr Division Football: Mohakhali Ekadosh earn comfortable 3-1 victory over Motijheel T&T The day's other match between Swadhinata Krira Sangha and Siddikbazar Dhaka Junior Sporting Club ended in a 1-1 draw at the same venue on Monday morning. Dhaka Junior took the lead in the 33rd minute with a gifted goal when Swadhinata KS defender Sayem Hossain sent the ball into his own net (1-0). Sr Division Football: Jatrabari Jhotika Sangsad outplay Little Friends Club by 4-1 goals Mohammad Saifullah levelled the margin for Swadhinata KS, scoring a goal in the 40th minute (1-1). Sr Division Football: Badda Jagoroni Sangsad make a good start beating Sadharan Bima KS 3-0

The Bangladesh national women's cricket team is all set to fly to Sri Lanka to take part in the ACC Women's Asia Cup T20. Before an official photoshoot on Monday, Nigar Sultana, the Bangladesh captain, said they are aiming for a semifinal spot in this edition of the Asia Cup. Bangladesh, the former champions, have experienced a mixed bag of results over the last couple of years. Last year, they played against India at home but fell short of expectations. ACC Women's T20 Asia Cup 2024: Match Fixtures, Schedule, Groups, and Teams “Our first goal is to qualify for the semifinal,” Nigar said on Monday in Mirpur. “We haven't done well in the last two series. We failed to win any matches. So the first match in the Asia Cup is important for us.” In their first match, Bangladesh will take on the hosts, Sri Lanka, against whom Bangladesh has three wins in 12 matches. The stats prove that Sri Lanka is a stronger side than Bangladesh in T20s, meaning that Nigar and her team will have to play their best cricket to beat Sri Lanka in their opening match of the Asia Cup. Jesy to become first Bangladeshi umpiring at Women's Asia Cup In 2018, Bangladesh beat India twice, including once in the final, and won the title for the first time, a feat that the men's team has never achieved so far. But since then, Bangladesh has never been able to reach the semifinals. “We need good momentum, and a win against Sri Lanka can deliver that,” she said. Hashan Tillakaratne is the coach of the Bangladesh women's team. The former Sri Lankan cricketer believes the team has played poorly in recent times, and he said it's necessary to instill confidence in them so that they can overcome the fear of failure and perform well. BCB announces women's cricket team for ACC Women's Asia Cup 2024 “We have to accept that we haven't been able to play good cricket in recent times,” Hashan said. “But we have the ability to do well.” Bangladesh's confidence can be boosted by the inclusion of two senior campaigners, Rumana Ahmed and Jahanara Alam—both of whom were out of the national team for around a year. Both the captain and coach said they are confident that their inclusion can help the team find momentum in the Asia Cup. “They returned to the setup after a long time,” Nigar said. “Both did well in the last domestic event. I think they can impact our game in a bigger way.” Bangladesh has no dedicated T20 event for the development of women's cricket. Despite repeated outcries by the cricketers, the BCB has yet to introduce a T20 event for women cricketers. But Habibul Bashar, the former Bangladesh captain and current head of the women's wing, said they are working to introduce more development opportunities for women's cricket. “The BCB has had discussions about doing it,” Bashar said about more opportunities and facilities for women cricketers. “It's now the call of the time. I don't know when we'll get it, but the BCB is discussing it.”

Argentines taking to the streets to revel in their Copa América triumph late Sunday inhabit a very different place now than they did 19 months ago, when their World Cup win sent millions surging into the same Buenos Aires square in a howl of collective celebration. “Glorious,” Diego Cáceres, 38, recalled of Argentina’s massive open-air party on December 18, 2022. “This is beautiful, too,” he said of Sunday's crowds cheering and setting off fireworks around the capital’s landmark obelisk after Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 in extra time to win its third straight major tournament. “But it's a cherry-on-top, or a reminder. It makes me want to go back in time." Economic crisis has stalked Argentina for years. But today, annual inflation tops 270%. Almost 60% of the country’s 45 million people live in poverty. Argentines have become worn out by the high-stakes anxiety of the news: Anti-government protests raging, labor strikes paralyzing cities, President Javier Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist,” unveiling new spending cuts and railing against feminism. This week their televisions flashed dire warnings about the peso hitting new lows against the dollar, dragging the value of their savings down with it. Argentina wins record 16th Copa America title, beats Colombia 1-0 after Messi gets hurt The last time Cáceres celebrated his national team in this downtown square, he worked as a cook in various restaurants and rented an apartment. Today, he said, he’s unemployed and sleeps on the streets. “Everything is horrible now," he said after the game finally got underway in Miami after repeated delays due to fan congestion. “Just when you think things can't get more expensive, they do.” Some in this superstitious nation joke that they paid a steep price in Qatar for their first World Cup victory since 1986, pointing to the crises that followed the triumph. “Has anyone checked the terms and conditions of winning the Copa América?” reads one post on X widely shared among Argentines. “I don’t know if I’m up for a second round of winning at any cost.” But Argentines say that they needed this tournament, and this trophy, more than they could have imagined. For Argentina, South America’s biggest soccer championship offered not just glorious achievement but exquisite, if fleeting, escape. “It’s our best entertainment, that’s what makes it so important,” said Erika Maya, a 47-year-old homeless mother of six, as she peered at the televised match through the glass of a locked restaurant door. “You can forget everything that's going on, and just enjoy.” For every new outrage over the last 24 days, Argentines have found the respite of obsessively watching their beloved national team, led by Lionel Messi, play for an hour and a half, generating moments of agony and excitement that reverberate all over this soccer-crazed country. “Football is the fruit of our society, it's what we're proud of, it's what we give to the world," said 21-year-old soldier Fabrizo Diaz, who watched the match with his girlfriend. As the game kicked off at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, restaurants in Buenos Aires shuttered, streets emptied and the sprawling city fell eerily silent, with most Argentines in thrall to their TVs at home as though under a COVID lockdown. The looming specter of Messi’s retirement has heightened soccer fever in recent weeks, with the 37-year-old captain’s noncommittal muses in televised interviews inducing, at turns, nationwide hope and despair. “I believe Messi is going to continue. I don’t know if he’ll make it to the next World Cup, but this is not the end,” said 32-year-old Adrian Vallejos, watching the final with his wife and son. “I mean, God, I hope so.” Messi’s persistent leg injuries — including a hurt ankle in the second-half of the final that forced him off the field — have drawn more attention than his performances during this Copa América. But Argentines breathed a sigh of relief when, asked by ESPN this week whether this match would be his last in blue-and-white, Messi refused to rule out playing in the 2026 World Cup. Birthday boy Lamine Yamal wins Euro 2024 and best young player award “We’re at a very poignant transition for this team,” said Alejo Levoratti, a sports sociologist at Argentine research institute CONICET. “It’s only at the point of his retirement that Messi arrived at his best moment and found this connection with his team, this communion with Argentina.” Another Argentine great of the same age, Ángel Di María, had announced Sunday's match would be his last, fueling a broader sense of nostalgia about the national squad. He had tears in his eyes as he left the pitch to a standing ovation after Argentina's breakthrough goal. “I dreamt of retiring like this,” he told reporters afterward. After years of disappointments in international tournaments, the Argentine team has, more recently, clinched triumph after triumph — 2021 Copa América, 2022 inaugural Finalissima match, 2022 World Cup — exhilarating its troubled country again and again. President Milei, who had a short stint as a goalie for the professional soccer team Chacarita Juniors, congratulated the national team in an all-caps message on X: “WE ARE CHAMPIONS AGAIN...!!!” In litter-strewn downtown Buenos Aires, the site of so many protests in recent weeks, national pride appeared, briefly, restored. Friends and strangers draped in Argentinean flags and jerseys hugged and jumped up and down, some singing “Muchachos,” the unofficial anthem of the 2022 World Cup, others chanting Messi's name.

Argentina won its second straight Copa America championship, overcoming Lionel Messi’s second-half leg injury to beat Colombia 1-0 Sunday night on Lautaro Martínez’s 112th-minute goal. Messi appeared to sustain a non-contact injury while running and falling in the 64th minute and covered his face with his hands as he sat on the bench and sobbed. Martínez later ran to that bench to hug his captain after the goal that propelled Argentina to its record 16th Copa title. In a match that started 1 hour, 22 minutes late because of crowd trouble at Hard Rock Stadium, Argentina won its third straight major title following the 2021 Copa America and 2022 World Cup and matched Spain, which won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships around the 2010 World Cup. Argentina also stopped Colombia’s 28-game unbeaten streak dating to a February 2022 loss to the Albiceleste. Martínez entered in the 97th minute and scored from Giovani Lo Celso’s perfect through pass. Just inside the penalty area, Martínez sent a right-foot shot through the upraised arms of sliding goalkeeper Camilo Vargas for his 29th international goal, his tournament-high fifth. Making his 39th and possibly last Copa America appearance at age 37, Messi had one goal in the tournament. He went down after an ankle was stepped on in the first half but remained in the game. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner looked to the bench as soon as he fell to the field in the second half, appearing to know his tournament was over. He took off his right boot as he walked off and slammed it frustration, and his ankle appeared to swell. The start was delayed from 8 p.m. EDT to 9:22 p.m. because of crowd control issues outside the stadium, including troves of fans breaching security gates at a venue to be used for the 2026 World Cup. Days after Uruguay players were involved in a brawl with Colombia fans following their semifinal match in Charlotte, North Carolina, video showed fans climbing fences and railings to get inside the championship match, with officials unable to keep track of who had purchased tickets and who didn’t. Colombia was more aggressive and forced goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez to make four saves in the first half, but Argentina began to threaten more in the second. Nicolás Tagliafico thought he scored in the 75th minute but was ruled offside. Nicolás González, who replaced Messi. was stopped by Vargas in the 95th minute. Numerous players lost their footing during the second half of Sunday’s match. The grass was heavily watered with sprinklers following the halftime performance by Colombian pop star Shakira, which caused an extended halftime break.

Lionel Messi's night ended early during the Copa America final when he emotionally exited the field in the 64th minute with an apparent leg injury on Sunday night, and cameras showed him later on the bench with a badly swollen right ankle. The 37-year-old appeared to suffer a noncontact injury while running full speed on the pitch as defending champ Argentina remained in a scoreless match against Colombia. Messi immediately looked toward the Argentina bench as he went to the ground. He remained down for several minutes as trainers came out. He was helped to his feet and immediately took his shoe off his right foot. As he walked off the field, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner took off his captains armband and threw his shoe to the ground in frustration. An emotional Messi was then shown covering his face, sobbing in his seat. Messi went down in the first half after landing awkwardly when chasing a ball out of bounds. He rolled over several times as he grabbed at his lower right leg. Trainers worked on the area for a few minutes before helping him to his feet. He walked slowly toward the sideline before returning to the game. Messi had been dealing with a leg injury and discomfort through much of the tournament and missed Argentina's group stage finale. He had one shot attempt in the first half Sunday.     

The Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia is underway after a delay of more than an hour on Sunday evening because of crowd issues, including fans breaching security gates. Hours before kickoff, fans got past the gates at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, one of the host sites for the 2026 World Cup. Video posted on social media showed fans, mostly wearing Colombia's yellow and red colors, jumping over security railings near the southwest entrance of the stadium and running past police officers and stadium attendants. Screams could be heard in the background. A handful of people could be seen receiving medical treatment and asking for water in the sweltering South Florida heat. Officers were able to push the crowd behind the gates and lock down the entrance so that no one could get inside, although plenty of fans with tickets had already made it to their seats before then. One young fan wearing an Argentina jersey was let inside the gate crying hysterically as the man who was with him and a police officer tried to comfort him. Security initially appeared to open gates slightly to allow only a handful a fans in at a time, while other angry attendees pushed against the railings. After reclosing the gates, security began letting fans reenter slowly around 8:10 p.m., with the new kickoff time set for 9:15 p.m., but the commotion did not stop. Fans again broke through the railings, so many filing in that security scanners rocked back and forth from the force. Fans wearing gear from both teams started running in multiple directions, some carrying children on their shoulders. Tickets were not being scanned and few police officers or stadium officials could be seen in the sea of people. Some fans started climbing over fences to get in. Three police officers were seen placing handcuffs on a fan with a Colombia flag on a ramp that leads to the stadium's seats. A fan named Claudio, who traveled to the game from Mendoza in Argentina, spoke of not being able to breathe as police attempted to subdue the chaos. “They can’t organize a World Cup! It’s impossible,” Claudio said in Spanish. "People stuck against the gate for hours, unable to breathe. There was a senior citizen, look at him, look at him (motioning at his young son), left without water. No water, nothing." Miami-Dade County's police department issued a statement on X following the scene, mentioning there were “several incidents” before the gates opened at the stadium. “These incidents have been a result of the unruly behavior of fans trying to access the stadium," the statement said. "We are asking everyone to be patient, and abide by the rules set by our officers and Hard Rock Stadium personnel. We are actively working with Hard Rock Stadium to ensure a safe environment for all those attending. Unruly behavior will get you ejected and/or arrested.” Players took the pitch at about 8:38 p.m. to begin warming up. Hard Rock Stadium also issued a statement, saying that “thousands of fans without tickets tried to forcibly enter the stadium.” “All fans without tickets MUST leave Hard Rock Stadium premises,” the statement said. “It is paramount to a successful and most importantly a safe match.” A sellout crowd of more than 65,000 was expected for the championship match of the South American tournament. There was a decent split between fans of Argentina and Colombia in the stands, though there appeared to be more yellow Colombia gear. It isn't clear which of the fans who gained entrance during the rushes had tickets to the match — CONMEBOL, South America's governing body, posted a statement on X a day before warning that fans must have tickets to even enter the parking lot of the venue. The Associated Press spoke with several people Sunday who had parked their cars in the parking lot of the stadium without tickets to the match. Standing near a tent that said “Those without entry” in Spanish was Víctor Cruz, an Argentina native of Mendoza who did not purchase tickets. “It doesn’t matter if we don’t go in, we’ll see it somewhere,” said Cruz, hours before kickoff. There were people still waiting to enter the game who had received tickets, along with those who did not have tickets, all of whom were held behind security gates close to the original 8 p.m. EDT start time. Copa America, in a post on X Sunday evening, said that only fans who have purchased tickets would be able to enter “once access is reopened.”  

Spain’s teenage phenom Lamine Yamal won the European Championship and the tournament’s best young player award just a day after he turned 17. Yamal earned it mostly while he was still 16, but he crowned his contribution to Spain’s success by setting up Nico Williams’ opening goal in a 2-1 win over England in the final on Sunday. “This is the best (birthday) gift I could have asked for. It’s a dream come true,” Yamal said. “It got tough when they tied the score, but I don’t know what this team is made of because we always fight back.” England substitute Cole Palmer had equalized for England, but Mikel Oyarzabal clinched Spain’s win in the 86th. Yamal set up Williams to score in the 47th by drifting inside Luke Shaw and playing the ball across to the left for the Athletic Bilbao winger to hit first time inside the far post. Yamal also brought two good saves from England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. “Lamine is incredible, as you’ve all seen during this tournament,” Williams said. “The sky’s the limit for him. As well as being a good player, he’s also a great person.” Yamal became the youngest player to appear at the European Championship, the youngest to score in the tournament, and the youngest to play in a final. Yamal plays for Barcelona, following in the footsteps of his idol, Lionel Messi, after coming through the club’s famed La Masia training academy. He's also the youngest goalscorer in the Spanish league. He finished with four assists and one goal in his debut European Championship.

Both the Bangladesh Youth (U-18) and Junior (U-20) Handball teams finished runners-up in the four- nation International Handball Federation (IHF) Men's Trophy' 2024 Zone 11 (Asia) losing to hosts India in the finals at the Sawai Man Singh Indoor Stadium in Jaipur, India on Sunday. Bangladesh Youth (U-18) team finished runners up losing to hosts India by 36-56 goals in the final after trailing by 14-31 goals in the first half. Bangladesh Junior (U-20) team remained satisfied with runners-up position after conceding a 55-25 goals defeat also against India Sunday afternoon. Bangladesh went down by 16-31 goals in the first half. Bangladesh Youth (U-18) team reached the final with two consecutive wins eliminating the Maldives by 47-28 goals on Friday after beating  Nepal by 46-26 goals in the 2nd match on Thursday. Bangladesh Junior (U-20) team managed a final berth also eliminating the Maldives by 38-30 goals in their 3rd match on Friday after making 29-29 goals draw with Nepal in the 2nd match last Thursday. Earlier in the opening day (Wednesday), both the Bangladesh Youth and Junior teams conceded defeat against hosts India. Bangladesh Youth (U -18) team conceded defeat against India by a scoreline of 45-35, while Bangladesh Junior (U-20) team suffered a 46-26 goals defeat against India on Wednesday.

Sanju Samson scored 58 as India beat Zimbabwe by 42 runs in their fifth Twenty20 on Sunday to win the five-match series 4-1. Samson, who was part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad, hit four sixes in his 45-ball innings to help India score 167-6 in 20 overs after losing the toss and batting first. Rahul Dravid declines extra bonus from BCCI after India’s T20 World Cup win, garners widespread praise In reply, Zimbabwe was bowled out for 125 runs in 18.3 overs with medium pacer Mukesh Kumar taking 4-22 in 3.3 overs. Zimbabwe had won the first T20 by 13 runs, with India then rebounding with four consecutive wins. It won the second, third and fourth T20s by 100 runs, 23 runs, and 10 wickets, respectively. Zimbabwe stuns world champion India by 13 runs in opener of T20 series