United News of Bangladesh

Defending champions Bangladesh will face Chinese Taipei in the final match of the 12-nation Bangabandhu Cup '2023 International Kabaddi Tournament on Tuesday (March 21) at 12.15 pm at the Shaheed Noor Hossain Volleyball Stadium here. State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russell MP will be the chief guest in Tuesday's final and will distribute the trophies at the closing function to be chaired by president of the Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation (BKF) and Inspector General of Bangladesh Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun  Last two times champions Bangladesh stormed into the final eliminating Thailand by 45-26 points in the first semifinal Monday afternoon after dominating the first half by 17-11 points. With the day's feat, Bangladesh earned the right to play in the World Cup and Asian Games Kabaddi directly as the finalists of the ongoing meet.  Chinese Taipei booked a seat for the final eliminating Iraq by 52-44 points with two lonas (all-out) after leading the first half by 31-16 points. Cheng-Chih Chang of Chinese Taipei named as the man of the match.  In the day's first semifinal, Bangladesh, ranked number 5th in the world, had a cautious start against the 9th ranked Thailand.  Bangladesh initially went down by 2-3 points in the 6th minute of the match, but they leveled the margin 7-7 in the 13th minute. However, Bangladesh's inspiring captain Tuhin Tarafder ousted three Thai players in the 16th minute by a magnificent raid to change the scenario of the match.  Bangladesh earned the first Lona (all-out) by a superb raid by Tuhin and started firing all the cylinders.  After the first half, Bangladesh concentrated upon keeping the lead taking more points with raids rather than catching the Thai attackers.  However, Roman Hossain of Bangladesh branded a super performance in the dying minute with his precise catching.  Thailand raider Chayaphon Kamunee troubled Bangladesh defense line-up scoring eight points but the Thailand was unable to break the superiority of the defending champions. Tuhin Tarafder scored 11 points while Mizanur Rahman, the rising star, also bagged 11 points for Bangladesh.  Later, Tuhin Tarafder was adjudged the Man of the Match.    

An international professional boxing event is going to be held tomorrow at the InterContinental Dhaka.Xcel Sports Management and Promotions is organizing the event. Titled “Beximco XBC Fight Night”, the event will, for the first time, feature boxers from England, France, India, and Thailand, as they will battle Bangladeshi boxers, according to a press release.Champion Bangladeshi boxers Sura Krishna Chakma and Alamin, winners of the pro-boxing event in 2022, will be joining this year’s tournament.On top of that, for the first time in Bangladesh, globally acclaimed professional female kickboxer Ruqsana Begum will also participate in this edition of Fight Night, said the release.Adnan Haroon, chairman of Bangladesh Boxing Foundation, announced the professional boxing event today for this year.A total of 14 participants will be competing in the tournament across various weight categories. The tournament will start with a six-round bout of Bantamweight class between two Bangladeshi Boxers, added the release.With the fight night ahead, Xcel Sports Management and Promotions hosted a Weigh-In session today.“This is the first time that professional boxing will take place with female boxers contending for a title championship belt in Bangladesh. We are delighted to host the faceoff between superstars Ruqsana Begum and Tanjila on this year’s fight night. We believe this will pave the way for female boxers in the country,” said Adnan Haroon.Beximco is the title sponsor while Premier Bank is the co-sponsor of the event. The gold sponsors are 5R Securex and Innstar, while the Silver sponsors are Kloth, Trade majestic LTD., Unicom, and Pepsi.Besides, TNR, Bongo, T Sports, InterContinental Dhaka and bKash will feature as partners for this event. The event will be supervised by Ashraful Islam and will take place from 6:00 PM to 10:30 PM. Viewers can watch the action live on T-Sports and Bongo.

The inauguration ceremony of the Walton First Division Women’s Chess League, organized by Bangladesh Chess Federation under the auspices of Walton Hi-Tech Industries, will be held on Monday (March 20) at the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall-room here. FM. Iqbal Bin Anowar (Dawn), Senior Executive Director of Walton Hi-Tech Industries, will inaugurate the league as the chief guest Monday noon. KM Shahidullah, Vice President of Bangladesh Chess Federation will preside over the ceremony.  However, the league competition,to be played in round robin league format, will begin on Wednesday (March 22).  Twelve teams are expected to compete in this year's women's chess league, an international rating chess competition.  The teams are :last time champions Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Police, Titas Club, Uttara Central Chess Club, Rupali Bank Krira Parishad, Basir Memorial Chess Club, Sheikh Russell Chess Club, Shahin Chess Club, Sonali Bank Sports and Recreation Club, Sultana Kamal Smriti Pathagar, Team Barisal and Basir Memorial Chess Academy. A total prize money of Taka 50,000.00 (fifty thousand) will be awarded to the winners. The champion team will receive a cash prize of taka 25,000.00, the runners-up team will receive taka 15,000.00 and the 3rd place team will receive taka 10,000.00 and alongside the trophies and medals.

Defending champions Bangladesh will play Thailand and Chinese Taipei will face Iraq in two semi-finals of the Bangabandhu Cup International Kabaddi Tournament' 2023 on Monday (March 20) at the Shaheed Noor Hossain Volleyball Stadium here. Hosts Bangladesh will play the first semifinal against the Group B runners up Thailand at 4 pm while Group B champions Chinese Taipei will encounter Group A runners-up Iraq in the other semifinal at 5 pm on Monday. Earlier, defending champions Bangladesh emerged Group A champions to reach the semifinal with all-win record securing full ten points from straight five matches while Iraq stormed into the semifinal as the Group A runners securing eight points from five matches after beating England by 47-36 points in a hard-fought match Sunday afternoon. After the Group B matches, both the Chinese Taipei and Thailand have secured eight points each from all the five group matches, but in the net points Chinese Taipei (76-61 points) emerged group champions and Thailand finished group runners-up to reach the semifinals.. In the day's other matches, Thailand earned the 4th victory to reach the semis beating Indonesia by 55-26 points with three lonas (all out) after dominating the first half by 29-14 points while Kenya failed to make a semifinal berth from Group B despite beating Sri Lanka by 41-34 points with two lonas after leading the first half by 23-16 points, both at the Shaheed Noor Hossain Volleyball Stadium on Sunday.  

Bangladesh team clinched gold medal in the recurve mixed team event of the 2023 Asia Cup World Ranking Tournament beating their Kazakhstan rivals in Chinese Taipei on Sunday. Bangladesh mixed doubles pair Hakim Ahmed Rubel and Diya Siddiqui beat their Kazakhstan rivals Abdullin Ilfat and E Alina partner by 5-3 set in the event's final Monday afternoon.  Mohammad Abdul Hakin Rubel earned a bronze medal for Bangladesh in the recurve men's singles  beating his Kazakhstan opponent Abdullin Ilfat by 6-4 set in a bronze medal deciding match of the event, also on Monday. Also read: Bangladesh Archery team to fly for Chinese Taipei Tuesday early hour However, Diya Siddiqui of Bangladesh lost to her Malaysian rival Mashaqikh Syaqiera by 4-6 set in the 3rd place deciding bronze medal match of the recurve women's singles on Monday.  A nine-member Bangladesh National Archery team comprising  six archers and three officials left the capital for Chinese Taipei last Tuesday. Members of Bangladesh team: Mohamnad Hakim Ahmed Rubel, M Sagor Islam, Ram Krishna Saha (recurve men's archer), Diya Siddiqui (recurve women's archer), Mohammad Ashiquzzaman (compound men's archer) and Shymoli Rai (compound women's archer). Officials: Aynal Haque Swapan (team manager),  Martin Frederick ( head coach) and Mohammad Hasan (coach).  

Bangladesh team will battle for the gold medal of the recurve mixed team event of the 2023 Asia Cup World Ranking Tournament, Stage-1 in the Chinese Taipei on Sunday. Bangladesh mixed doubles pair Hakim Ahmed Rubel and Diya Siddiqui will play the gold medal deciding final natch against Kazakhstan rivals on Monday at 2:52 pm local time. Besides, Hakim Ahmed Rubel and Diya Siddiqui will also compete in the bronze medal match of the recurve men's singles and recurve women's singles, also on Sunday. Diya Siddiqui will play a Malaysian archer in the 3rd place deciding bronze medal match at 3:12 pm local time while Hakim Ahmed Rubel will face a Kazakh archer in the 3:43 local  time on Sunday. Earlier, a nine member Bangladesh National Archery team, comprises comprises six archers and three officials, left the capital for Chinese Taipei last Tuesday to compete in seven events out of the tournament's ten events. Bangladesh's participating seven events are: recurve men's singles, recurve women's singles, recurve men's team,  recurve mixed team, compound men' s singles, compound women's singles and compound mixed team. Members of Bangladesh team: Mohamnad Hakim Ahmed Rubel, M Sagor Islam, Ram Krishna Saha (recurve men's archer), Diya Siddiqui (recurve women's archer), Mohammad Ashiquzzaman (compound men's archer) and Shymoli Rai (compound women's archer). Officials: Aynal Haque Swapan (team manager),  Martin Frederick ( head coach) and Mohammad Hasan (coach).  

Holders Bangladesh emerged Group A champions in the Bangabandhu Cup'2023 International Kabaddi Tournament with all-win record beating Iraq by 49-33 point at the Shaheed Noor Hossain Volleyball Stadium here on Saturday. Bangladesh led the first half by 28-13 point. With the day's feat, Bangladesh made it five in five to clinch the top slot of Group A securing full 10 points from straight five matches and will play Group B runners up in the first semifinal at 4pm on Monday. Formidable Iraq took the court on Saturday afternoon with three back to back wins,  but conceded their first defeat in the  meet against  last two times champions hosts Bangladesh. However, they still in the semifinal race from Group B securing six points from four matches and will play England in the remaining Group B match on Sunday to assure the semifinal berth. In the day's vital match, Bangladesh had a slow start but gradually regained the rhythm with overall teamwork.  .The first five minutes saw some neck to neck duels but Bangladesh inflicted the first Lona (all out) in the sixth minute.  Experienced raider Arduzzaman initiated efficient attacks while Tuhin Tarafder and Mizanur Rahman was witty in their raids.  Iraq skipper Sabir Aloi Sari made some headache for Bangladesh defence with his height and long limbed kicks. In the 16th minute, Bangladesh was reduced to three against Iraq’s seven. But a super raid of Mizanur Rahman saw three Iraqi players out and three Bangladesh players back into the court.  After the change of ends, Bangladesh concentrated upon maintaining the lead with cautious approach. Iraq tried hard but failed to overcome the tactical net of the hosts.  Tuhin Tarafder and Arduzzaman both scored nine points each but Tuhin was grabbed the glittering trophy and the purse of BDT 10000 allocated for the Man of the Match. In the day's other match, Chinese Taipei took a solo lead in the Group B of the Tournament  beating all losers Malaysia by 79-34 point  at the same venue  on Saturday. Chen Chi Chih Chang was adjudged Man of the Match. With the day's well merited victory, Chinese Taipei completed their Group B campaign in the top slot securing eight points from all the five group encounters. But, the Chinese Taipei still have to wait for their semifinal slot as Sri Lanka and Thailand both also have six points and one match to play.   

A two-day ‘Independence Day Golf Tournament, with the participation of Golfing Rotarians from home and abroad, begins on Sunday (March 19) at the Savar Golf Course Rotary’s Past District Governor in India Parag Sheth, the founding chair of the South Asian Fellowship for Golfing Rotarians (SAFGR), will be the guest of honour to inaugurate the tournament at the Savar Golf Club on Sunday. The SAFGR, a platform of Rotarians who play golf in South Asia, is organizing the tournament with much enthusiasm as a gesture of remembering the 1971 war heroes and celebrating the country's Independence earned through a hard-fought war against Pakistan. But, the final day of the tournament will take place at Kurmitola Golf Course in Dhaka Cantonment on Monday. Rotarian Engr. M.A. Wahab, Rotary’s incumbent District Governor in Bangladesh, will chair the closing and prize giving ceremony at the Kurmitola Golf Club. Read more: YU Young-oh wins first prize at 39th Korean Cup Golf Tournament Rotarian Shafiqul Islam, SAFGR’s Bangladesh chief and a freedom fighter, said on Saturday that at least 15 golfing Rotarians from India and Nepal have arrived in Dhaka to join the tournament while a number of Bangladeshi golfing Rotarians will also take part in the competition. “Rotarians work for humanity. In Bangladesh some 10,000 Rotarians are engaged in various social work. But they also play golf, cricket and other games. As the Independence Day is knocking our door we have planned to remember the war heroes through this tournament,” Shafiqul, who is also a former President of Rotary Club of Uttara, said. “This tournament, I am sure, will also strengthen friendship among the Rotarians from other South Asian countries including India and Nepal,” he said. SAFGR Golfers who are joining from India and Nepal are Asish Sen, Gp Capt RS Raghav, Justice JK Ranka, Yogesh Gupta, Ramesh Kumar Kakkar, Kamal Bordia, Parag Sheth, Bhai Raja Pabday, Uday Narayan, Athmaram Simkhada, Ajoy Nongrum, RR Panday, JP Tiwary.    

Defending champions Bangladesh smartly reached the semifinals of the 12-nation Bangabandhu Cup' 2023 International Kabaddi with all-win run outplaying England by 55-27 points in their 4th group match at the Shaheed Noor Hossain Volleyball Stadium Friday afternoon Bangladesh led the first half by 29-10 points..With the day's well merited victory, last two times champions Bangladesh clearly dominated the Group A securing full eight points from straight matches and will face Iraq in their last and group deciding match on Saturday. Captain Tuhin Tarafder started Bangladesh journey with a point in the very first raid of the match giving a clear message to England in the very beginning about Bangladesh’s intention. But, Bangladesh received a severe blow in the very 5th minute when two reliable players Roman Hossain and Rasel Hasan collided with each during a catch attempt and had to leave the court with forehead injuries. Bangladesh earned the first Lona in the 13th minute. The other Lona in the first half happened in the 17th minute. Bangladesh’s dominating approach never allowed England to settle as Al Amin and Mizanur Rahman continued to explore the opponent territory regularly with success. Bangladesh earned another two Lona’s in the second half. Mizanur scored 14 points in the day's match taking his total individual points to 54 points in four matches. Later, Mizanur was adjudged man of the match. After the match, skipper Tuhin Tarafder paid tribute to the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and vowed to continue the winning streak. “I dedicate the victory to our father of the nation and we have attained our first goal of reaching the semifinals. Now we are more confident to make our next goal a reality, we will now focus on reaching the final,” said Tuhin. In the day's other match, Kenya came out firing with a massive 81-26 points win over Malaysia. Kenya registered their 2nd win in four matches while consecutive four losses saw Malaysia crash out of the tournament. In the day's other match, Nepal outplayed all losers Argentina by 62-28 points in the day's third match. Argentina suffered their third defeat in same number of matches while Nepal kept their semifinal hopes alive with the 2nd win from four matches

ATM Sayeduzzaman of Kaler Kantha and Anisur Rahman Paltu of The Daily Star have been re-elected the president and general secretary (GS) of the Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association (BSJA).Chief election commissioner and former BSJA president Monjurul Haque announced the new committee for two years ( 2023-24) after the 19th biennial general meeting of the association held at the BSJA office premises at Bangabandhu National Stadium in the capital Thursday. The other office bearers and executive committee (EC) members of the new committee are – Vice President Syed Saidur Rahman Shamim (Channel i), Raihan Al Mugni (Global Sports.com) and Borshan Kabir (NTV), Joint Secretary SM Sumon (Boishakhi TV), Finance Secretary Minhajuddin Khan (Dhaka Tribune).Mazhar Uddin Omi (The Daily Star), Ahmed Rakib (T-Sports), Manjur Morshed (Jamuna TV), Jyotirmoy Mondal (Dainik Jugantor), Robiul Islam (Bangla Tribune) and Yeasin Hasan (Rising BD) are EC members.