The maiden Sheikh Russel International Club Cup Tennis Tournament’2019, jointly organised by  Khulna District Administration and Khulna Officers Club, begins on Wednesday at Circuit House tennis court here. 
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the six-day meet through a video conference at 10:30 am from the Gana Bhaban.
A total of 64 tennis players from 18 countries -- 50 foreign players and 14 local players – will take part in the tournament.
Participating countries: USA, Mongolia, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Australia, Cameroon, Tunisia, Italy, India, Pakistan, Britain and hosts Bangladesh.
The budget for the tournament was fixed at Tk 2.90 crore.  
Deputy Commissioner of Khulna Mohammad Helal Hossain, who is also Chairman of the Tournament Committee, disclosed the details of the tournament at a press conference at the Khulna Circuit House on Tuesday.
Mayor of Khulna City Corporation Talukder Abdul Khaleque, Advisors of the tournament committee Sheikh Salahuddin Jewel MP and Abdus Salam Murshedy MP were also present on the occasion.

Bangladesh Junior Kabaddi team emerged Group C champions to reach the quarterfinals of the First Junior Kabaddi World Cup 2019 beating Chinese Taipei by 48-36 points in their 2nd and last group match at Kish Island National Stadium in Iran on Tuesday.

Now Bangladesh will play Group A runners-up in the 3rd quarter-final on Thursday at the same venue.

Earlier, Bangladesh made a flying start beating Afghanistan by 84-11 points in their first match on Monday.

A total of 13 countries, split into four groups, were taking part in the Junior World Cup, organised by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF).

Group A: Hosts Iran, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkmenistan.

Group B: Pakistan, Denmark, Azerbaijan.

Group C: Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Chinese Taipei.

Group D: Sri Lanka, Iraq and Kenya.

Hosts Bangladesh were eliminated from the first Bangamata Asian Senior Women’s Central Zone International Volleyball Championship after conceding 2nd defeat losing to Nepal by 0-3 sets (7-25, 6-25, 6-25 points) in their 3rd match at Shaheed Suhrawardy National Indoor Stadium in Mirpur on Tuesday.

With the 3rd successive win, Nepal reached the final of the five-nation meet. Sunita Khadka of Nepal was adjudged best player of the match.  

The final and the 3rd place-deciding match will be held on Thursday (Nov 14) at the same venue.

In the day’s other match, Kyrgyzstan outplayed all-losers Afghanistan also by straight 3-0 sets (25-6, 25-7, 25-15 points) at the same venue.  

Earlier, Bangladesh made a flying start beating Afghanistan by straight 3-0 sets (25-9, 25-9, 25-3 points) in the opening match before conceding an straight 0-3 sets (16-25, 25-27, 22-25) defeat against the Maldives in their 2nd match on Sunday.

Bangladesh will play Kyrgyzstan in their 4th and last match on Wednesday at 3 pm while two title-contenders the Maldives and Nepal will also meet each other on Wednesday at 1 pm at the same venue.

After the match, Bangladesh Coach Golam Rasul Mehedi said, “I am not disappointed with the results. Our girls are new, they got their first international exposure through this tournament. They were found nervous and they failed to give their best. I think they’ll display better performances in the ensuing South Asian Games.”

 After being thoroughly outplayed by defending champion Alexander Zverev at the ATP Finals, Rafael Nadal refused to make any excuses.

The top-ranked Spaniard wouldn't blame the abdominal problem that forced him to pull out of the Paris Masters semifinals just nine days earlier, or a hand injury that kept him sidelined before that. And he bristled at the notion that his recent marriage could be a factor in a sub-par performance.

Something was clearly off for Nadal, though, who lost 6-2, 6-4 to a player he had a perfect 5-0 record against before Monday's match at the O2 Arena.

Nadal dropped his serve three straight times, didn't force a single break point, and his normally powerful forehand was responsible for more than four times as many unforced errors (13) as winners (3).

Still, Nadal insisted there was nothing wrong with him physically.

"I did not feel pain in the abdominal at all," he said. "So the physical issue was not an excuse at all. The only excuse is I was not good enough tonight."

Nadal hasn't finished a tournament since winning the U.S. Open in August, also pulling out of Shanghai because of a hand injury. That lack of playing time certainly isn't helpful coming into an event featuring only the top eight players in the world, rather than lower-ranked early opponents.

He still has to face Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev in round-robin play, and probably has to beat both in order to reach the semifinals.

"Knowing that I would not be at my 100% in terms of feelings, in terms of movement, in terms of confidence or hitting the ball, I needed my best competitive spirit this afternoon, and I was not there in that way," Nadal said. "I need to play much better in two days."

The Spaniard then got a bit testy when a journalist asked whether his October marriage to longtime girlfriend Maria Francisca Perello has changed his outlook on the game at all.

"Honestly, are you asking me this? Is that a serious question or a joke?" Nadal bristled. "It is a big surprise for me (that) you ask me this after I have been with the same girl for 15 years and having a very stable and normal life. Doesn't matter if you put a ring on your finger or not."

For Zverev, this latest win means he has beaten each of tennis' Big Three in his last three matches at the O2.

The German defeated six-time champion Roger Federer in last year's semifinals and then five-time winner Novak Djokovic in the final.

"It's definitely a place and a court that I love, and that brings maybe the best out of me," the seventh-seeded German said.

Nadal has a history of being far from his best at the ATP Finals, which comes at the end of a gruelling season that often takes its toll on the Spaniard because of his ultra-physical playing style. He has qualified for the event for 15 years in a row but has pulled out of it on six occasions because of injuries. He has never won the title, reaching the final twice.

But he showed up to London hoping to stave off Djokovic for the year-end No. 1 ranking.

Djokovic won his opening match on Sunday and this loss cuts Nadal's lead over the Serb to just 440 points in the rankings table - each round-robin win is worth 200 points - with a total of 1,300 more points up for grabs for each player.

Earlier, Tsitsipas earned his first career win over Medvedev - a victory that clearly meant a lot to the Greek not only because Tsitsipas was 0-5 against the Russian before winning 7-6 (5), 6-4, or that it came in his ATP Finals debut.

But mainly because two of the biggest rising stars in tennis simply don't like each other that much.

"It's a victory that I craved for a long time now, and it's great that it came at this moment," Tsitsipas said. "Our chemistry definitely isn't the best that you can find on the tour. It's not that I hate him (but) we will not go to dinner together."

The grudge dates to their first meeting, in Miami last year, when Medvedev berated Tsitsipas for not apologizing after hitting a net cord during a point, a spat that ended with both players trading insults on court.

"After that, I think I didn't win a single game. He did get into my head, and I was very frustrated that it did go this way," Tsitsipas said. "''e started telling me that I should apologize, that what I do is unsportsmanlike. I did get (angry) and said what I said, which I do regret, but at the time I was very frustrated."

On Monday, the sixth-seeded Greek earned the only break of the match to lead 5-4 in the second set and clinched the win with a forehand overhead at the net.

"He was better today, but I felt like I was missing some things," said Medvedev, the U.S. Open runner-up. "This frustrates me after. I do think it would frustrate me against any other opponent. I hate to lose against anybody."

On Tuesday, Federer faces Matteo Berrettini and Djokovic takes on Dominic Thiem.

Grand Master Niaz Murshed of Bangladesh Ansar emerged unbeaten champion in the Saif Powertec 45th National Chess Championship securing eight points from 10 matches at the Sreda Auditorium of the Institution of Engineers of Bangladesh (IEB) building on Monday 

This is the 6th national title for subcontinent’s first grand master Niaz after clinching last national crown in 2012. 

GM Mollah Abdullah Al Rakib of Saif Sporting Club became runner-up and IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman of Bangladesh Ansar became 3rd securing 7 points each. 

In the tie-breaking system, GM Rakib became runner-up and IM Fahad became 3rd. 

GM Reefat Bin Sattar of Bangladesh Ansar came 4th while FM M Taibur Rahman 5th with 6.5 points each. 

Four players earned six points each. Their positions were also decided through tie-breaker.

They are last year champion GM Ziaur Rahman of Saif Sporting Club (6th), IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin of Bangladesh Navy (7th), GM Enamul Hossain Razib of Saif Sporting Club (8th) and Tahsin Tajwar Zia of Golden Sporting Club (9th).  

Four players earned 5.5 points each. They are CM Manon Reja Neer of Chattogram, IM Abu Sufian Shakil of Bangladesh Navy, CM Md Sharif Hossain of Bangladesh Navy and FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed of Bangladesh Navy. 

In the day’s 10th and last round matches, GM Niaz beat CM Manon, GM Rakib drew with GM Zia, IM Fahad drew with GM Razib, FM Taibur drew with GM Reefat, IM Minhaz beat his teammate FM Mohammad Javed, Tahsin beat his teammate FM Mehdi Hasan Parag, IM Shakil beat Anata Choudhury of Sheikh Russel Chess Club, FM Nasir beat his teammate FM Khandaker Aminul Islam and CM Sharif beat FM Mohammed Abdul Malek of Chattogram. 

The event was held in 10-round Swiss-League system for the first time in the national chess history where five grandmasters participated. 

Roll of Honor: 1974- Miah Abdus Salek, 1975- Dr. Mirza Akmal Hossain, 1976- Dr Mirza Akmal Hossain, 1977- Not held, 1978- FIDE Master Rezaul Haque, 1979- Grandmaster Niaz Murshed, 1980- Grandmaster Niaz Murshed, 1981- Grandmaster Niaz Murshed, 1982- Grandmaster Niaz Murshed, 1983- FIDE Master Jamilur Rahman, 1984- FIDE Master Younus Hasan, 1985- Sayed Ahmed Sohel, 1986- International Master Zillur Rahman, 1987- International Master Zillur Rahman, 1988- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 1989- FIDE Master Rezaul Haque, 1990- FIDE Master Syed Tahmidur Rahman, 1991- Grandmaster Reefat Bin Sattar, 1992- Grandmaster Reefat Bin Sattar, 1993- Grandmaster Reefat Bin Sattar, 1994- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 1995- Grandmaster Reefat Bin Sattar, 1996- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 1997- Grandmaster Enamul Hossain, 1998- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 1999- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 2000- Grandmaster Reefat Bin Sattar, 2001- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 2002- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 2003- Grandmaster Reefat Bin Sattar, 2004- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 2005- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 2006- Grandmaster Enamul Hossain, 2007- Grandmaster Abdullah Al Rakib, 2008- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 2009- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 2010- International Master Minhazuddin Ahmed, 2011- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 2012- Grandmaster Niaz Murshed, 2013- Grandmaster Abdullah Al-Rakib, 2014- Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, 2015-International Master Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, 2016-Grandmster Enamul Hossain Razib, 2017- Grandmaster Enamul Hossain Razib, 2018-Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman and 2019-Grandmaster Niaz Murshed.