United News of Bangladesh

The logo of the four-nation Bangabandhu IHF Challenge Trophy Women's Handball  (Youth and Junior) ceremonially unveiled on Saturday (May 6) at the Shaheed Captain (Retd) M Monsur Ali National Handball Stadium here. State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russell officially unveiled the logo of the five -day tournament Saturday afternoon, approved by International Handball Federation and organized by Bangladesh Handball Federation.(BHF). All the four participating countries --India, Nepal, the Maldives and hosts Bangladesh --will field two teams of Under-17 and Under-19 age group each in the tournament beginning here on May 13. It will be the 2nd edition of the meet after the first tournament was held seven years ago.  

Avik Anwar and Aiman Sadat, two promising racers from Bangladesh, are set to participate in the Malaysia Championship Series at the Sepang International Circuit this weekend. Avik, a premier Bangladeshi motorsport driver, will compete in the Touring Production category, while 21-year-old Aiman will race in the Stock Production 1 category. In the qualifying rounds held on Friday, Avik finished P3 overall, while Aiman finished P8 in his class and P12 overall. Despite the tough competition, Avik expressed confidence in his abilities and hoped to finish first in the championship.    

Three players sharing the top slot  in the open section of the Bangabandhu Asian Zone-3.2 Chess Championships securing full 3 points after the 3rd round matches held at Dilkusha Hall of Hotel Purbani International on Thursday. The leaders are: IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman, GM Enamul Hossain and FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia.  Seven players sharing the 2nd position with 2.5 points each.  They are: GM Ziaur Rahman, IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed, CM Chanchal Kumer Ghosh, FM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan of Sri Lanka and FM Rupesh Jaswal of Nepal. Four Bangladeshi players maintained  their top slot jointly in the Women’s section of the meet securing  2.5 points each after the day's 3rd round matches. They are: FM Noshin Anjum, FM Nazrana Khan Eva, WCM Jannatul Fedous and Warsia Kushbu.  Five players earned 2 points each. They are: WIM Rani Hamid, WCM Ahmed Walijah, Kazi Zarin Tasnim, Wadifa Ahmed & WCM Sanudula K M Dahamdi of Sri Lanka.  In the day's 3rd round matches of Open Section, IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman beat CM Nayem Haque, GM Enamul Hossain Razib beat FM Md. Taibur Rahman, FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia beat Md. Sajidul Haque, FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed drew with FM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan, GM Ziaur Rahman beat FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman, IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin beat CM Sohel Chowdhury, FM Rupesh Jaswal drew with GM Niaz Murshed, FM Khandaker Aminul Islam beat Marzouq Chowdhury, CM Chanchal Kumer Ghosh beat CM Manon Reja Neer, FM Subrota Biswas beat CM Md. Sharif Hossain, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag beat Md. Masum Hossain, Shafiq Ahmed beat Zoar Haque Prodhan, FM Mohammed Abdul Malek beat Md. Sagor, Md. Sariatullah beat CM Md. Shawket Bin Osman Shaon, Md. Abzid Rahman beat Tutul Dhar, CM Sakline Mostafa Sajid beat FM Amer Karim of Pakistan, Md. Abu Hanif beat Afnan Zarif Haque, Kazi Afsan Rawnak Anan drew with CM Mahtabuddin Ahmed, Tasriq Shaihan Shan beat Md. Azmaeen Parvez Sayor, Md. Nasim Hossain Bhuiyan drew with Avik Sarker, FM Muhamed Shuaau beat Ananda Kumar Sharma, Mohammed Enayet Hossain beat Rayan Rashid Mugdho, Safayet Kibria Azaan beat Sk. Rashedul Hasan, FM Mohammad Javed beat Md Abu Tarique, FM Md Saif Uddin beat Akramul Azam, Dr. Ratan Kumar Paul beat Hanif Mollah, Shadat Kibria Ayaan beat Ali Kaiser and Siam Chowdhury beat Tashi Tobgay of Bhutan .  In the day's 3rd round of matches of the Women’s section, FM Noshin Anjum drew with Warsia Kushbu, FM Nazrana Khan Eva drew with WCM Jannatul Fedous, Wadifa Ahmed beat Nusrat Jahan Alo, Kazi Zarin Tasnim beat Neelava Choudhury, WCM Ahmed Walijah beat WCM G P Y Wijesuriya, WIM Rani Hamid beat Omnia Binte Yusuf Lubaba, WFM Sujana Lohani drew with WCM Mehak Gul of Pakistan, WCM Sanudula K M Dahamdi beat Abeysinghe H M H Janandan, WFM Tanima Parveen beat Ashiya Sultana, Sabikun Nahar Tonima drew with Nihaya Ahmed of Maldives and Yeshey Lhaden of Bhutan beat Fatiha Eyenoon Diya.  The 4th round matches of both the open and women's sections will be held on  Thursday from 3 pm at the same venue.

The BKSP Archery team, under the banner of Bangladesh team, will compete in two bronze medal matches of the compound men's team and mixed team events of the 2023 Asia Cup World Ranking Tournament,  Stage-2, in the Uzbekistan capital Tashkent  on Friday. Bangladesh compound men's team members— Topu Roy, Radin Bin Taleb and Abdullah Al  Kafi —will face Saudi Arabia on Friday for the event's bronze medal.  On the other hand, Bangladesh compound mixed team consists of Topu Roy and Puspita,Zaman who will meet Iraq for the event's bronze medal on Friday.

Nine players sharing the top slot in the open section of the Bangabandhu Asian Zone-3.2 Chess Championship securing full two points after the second round matches held at Dilkusha Hall of Hotel Purbani International in the capital on Wednesday. The leaders are: IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman, GM Enamul Hossain, FM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan of Sri Lanka, FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia, CM Nayem Haque, FM Md. Taibur Rahman, FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed, FM Rupesh Jaswal of Nepal and Md. Sajidul Haque. Four Bangladesh players sharing top slot in Women’s section securing full 2 points each after the day's 2nd round games. They are: FM Noshin Anjum, FM Nazrana Khan Eva, WCM Jannatul Fedous and Warsia Kushbu. In the 2nd round of Open Section, M Mohammad Fahad Rahman beat FM Mohammed Abdul Malek, GM Enamul Hossain Razib beat FM Md. Shawket Bin Osman Shaon, FM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan beat Md. Abzid Rahman, FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia beat FM Amer Karim of Pakistan, CM Nayem Haque beat Md. Abu Hanif, FM Md. Taibur Rahman beat CM Mahtabuddin Ahmed, FM Sheikh Nasir Ahmed beat Md Azmaeen Parvez Sayor, FM Rupesh Jaswal beat Tutul Dhar, Md. Sajidul Haque beat Shafiq Ahmed, CM Md. Sharif Hossain drew with cM Chanchal Kumer Ghosh, GM Ziaur Rahman beat CM Sakline Mostafa Sajid, GM Niaz Murshed beat Avik Sarker, CM Manon Reja Neer beat FM Muhamed Shaau, IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin beat Md. Nasim Hossain Bhuiyan, FM Khandaker Aminul Islam beat Mohammed Enayet Hossain, FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman beat Safayat Kibria Azaan, CM Sohel Chowdhury beat Rayan Rashid Mugdho, Marzouq Chowdhury beat FM Mohammad Javed, FM Subrota Biswas beat Dr. Ratan Kumar Paul, FM mehdi Hasan Parag beat Siam Chowdhury, Tashriq Saihan Shan beat FM Md Saif Uddin. In the 2nd round of matches of the Women’s section, FM Noshin Anjum beat WFM Sujana Lohani of Nepal, FM Nazrana Khan Eva beat WCM Sanudula K M Dahamdi of Sri Lanka, WCM Jannatul Fedous beat Wadifa Ahmed, Warsia Kushbu beat Abeysinghe H M H Janandan of Sri Lanka, WCM Ahmed Walijah beat WCM Mehak Gul of Pakistan, Nusrat Jahan Alo drew with Neelava Choudhury, Sabikun Nahar Tonima drew with WFM Tanima Parveen. The 3rd round matches of both the open and women's sections will be held on Thursday from 3-00 pm at the same venue.

The Bangladesh Sports Press Association (BSPA), the largest body of sports journalists in Bangladesh, has suspended the honorary membership of Kazi Salahuddin, the President of the Bangladesh Football Federation. According to a BSPA notice, Salahuddin's membership was suspended after he insulted the journalists by saying that journalists should submit photos of their parents to the BFF in order to enter its headquarters, with their father's shoes visible in the image. Salahuddin made these disparaging comments just before a press conference at the BFF, and the comments were recorded on a device that journalists had set up to record the press conference. Following the public release of his cheap comments on social media, Salahuddin faced widespread criticism from the public. He subsequently offered an apology to the journalists. “How much they hate journalists is revealed in their words,” the BSPA statement read. “BSPA offered honorary membership to Salahuddin in 2012. Now, after his disrespectful comments to journalists, we have decided to remove him from our organization.” Salahuddin and BFF have recently landed in hot water after FIFA banned its secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag for involving in corruption. BFF, however, denied the allegation but did not come up with an explanation. Dhaka Union of Journalists(DUJ) and Dhaka Reporters Unity(DRU) also condemned remarks made by Salahuddin.

Fide Master Subrota Biswas took solo lead in the Marcel International Rating Chess Tournament securing 5.5 points after the 6th and penultimate round matches held at Manha’s Castle Hall-Room in Green Road on Wednesday. Five players are sharing the second position with 5 points each. They are Anata Choudhury, FM Mohammad Javed, Sharif Hossain, Md Abzid Rahman, and Feroz Ahmed.  Another five players shared the third position with 4.5 points each.  They are IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, FM Khandekar Aminul Islam, Tutul Dhar, Mukitul Islam Ripon, and Md. Nasim Hossain Bhuiyan.   In the day's 6th round, FM Subrota Biswas beat IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, Anata Choudhury drew with CM Md. Sharif Hossain, and FM Mohammad Javed beat Md. Azmaeen Parvez Sayor, Md. Abzid Rahman beat Md,. Masum Hossain, Feroz Ahmed beat CM Sohel Chowdhury, FM Khandekar Aminul Islam beat Abdul Momin, Jabed Al Azad drew with Sk. Rashedul Hasan, Tutul Dhar beat AB Bappi, Md. Nasim Hossain Bhuiyan got a walk-over against Md. Sagor, and Mukitul Islam Ripon beat Din Mohammad.  The 7th and last round matches will be held on Thursday from 10:30 am at the same venue.     

Eight players shared the top spot in the Marcel International Rating Chess tournament, securing 3 points each after the third round matches held in the capital's Green Road Sunday. They are FM Subrota Biswas, FM Mohammad Javed, Anat Choudhury, CM Md Sharif Hossain, Jabed Al Azad, Md Abzid Rahman, Md Masum Hossain and Md Azmaeen Parvez Sayor. IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin, CM Sohel Chowdhury, Tutul Dhar and Osman Gani shared the second position with 2.5 points each. In today's matches, CM Sohel drew with IM Minhaz, FM Subrota beat Feroz Ahmed, Sayor beat FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman, Anata beat SK Rashedul Hasan, Masum beat FM Khandaker Aminul Islam, CM Sharif beat Rubel Hossen, FM Javed beat Md Sagor, Jabed beat Moniruzzaman Moni, Abzid beat Abdul Momin, Tutul beat Mukitul Islam Ripon, and Osman beat Md Abu Sayed. The fourth round matches will be held Monday from 2pm at the same venue.  

Bangladeshi International Master Mohammad Fahad Rahman (Raing-2396) sharing the 2nd slot in the 2nd Open International Chess Menorca Group A with 25 other players securing 2.5 points each after the 3rd round matches held in Menorca in Spain Wednesday night. In the 3rd round match, IM Fahad beat Turkish Grandmaster Can Emre (Rating 2594). Earlier in the 2nd round match on Wednesday morning, IM Fahad won against Gonzalez Gongzlez Asier of Spain. In the 4th round match on Thursday, IM Fahad due to play Indian GM Pranav Anand. A total of 200 players from 39 countries including 35 Grandmasters, 4 Women Grandmasters, 30 International Masters and 6 Women International Masters are taking part in the meet.

Grand Master  Ziaur Rahman has been crowned unbeaten champion in the Walton International Rating Chess Tournament securing eight points after the 9th and last round matches held at Bangladesh Chess Federation Hall-Room on Tuesday.  FM Mohammad Javed became runner-up.  GM Zia and FM Javed both earned 8 points each after the  9th and last round matches. But  in the tie-breaking system, GM Zia clinched the title and FM Javed became runner-up. Five players earned 7 points each. In a tie-breaking system, CM Manon Reja Neer became 3rd, FM FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia became 4th, CM Nayem Haque became 5th, FM Khandaker Aminul Islam became 6th and CM Md. Sharif Hossain became 7th.  Six players earned 6.5 points each.  After the tie-breaking system, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag became 8th, IM Mohammad Minhaz Uddin became 9th, FMN Subrota Biswas became 10th, Jabed Al Azad became 11th, Resat-E-Noor became 12th and FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman became 13th.  Eighteen players earned 6 points each to share the  14th to 20th slot.. They are: 14th-WFM Noashin Anjum, 15th-Md Masum Hossain, 16th-WCM Ahmed Walijah, 17th- Md. Siddiqur Rahman, 18th-Tutul Dhar, 19th-Md. Abu Hanif and 20th-Mukitul Islam Ripon.  In the day's 9th or last round matches, ,GM Zia drew with FM Tahsin, FM Javed beat IM Minhaz, CM Neer drew with FM Parag, CM Nayem beat WFM Noshin, FM Aminul beat Masum, CM Sharif beat WCM Walijah, Jabed drew with Reasat, FM Subrota beat Sariatullah, FM Mahfuz beat Md Sagor, Siddiqur drew with Hanif, Nasim drew with CM Mahtab, CM Jamal beat Rubel, CM Sohel beat Din, Humayan beat Tipu, Tutul beat Rabiul, Afnan beat Momin, Mowla beat Rashedul, Ayaan beat Nurul, Ripon beat JilaniRaison beat Dil, Neloy beat Arif and Osman beat Sabyasachi.  The Prize-Distribution ceremony will be held on Wednesday  at  12 noon at Bangladesh Chess Federation Hall-Room.  F M Iqbal Bin Anower (Dawn) Senior Executive Director of WALTON Hi-Tech Industries PLC will distribute prizes among winners as chief guest.