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Top 5 Most Followed Athletes Across Social Media Platforms
A player's global popularity may be determined by the number of social media followers he has. Furthermore, players with a huge number of social media followers are in great demand by the big brands in the world. Therefore any celebrity can take social media as a tool to increase his popularity. Because in this way a celebrity may showcase his or her worth to the wider populace. This article discusses the top 5 most followed athletes across social media platforms and we picked the three most popular social media platforms in the world, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to do the list.
Top 5 sports personalities with the highest social media followers
We have considered the combined number of followers of popular social media platforms to form the top ten. Let's take a look at this list.
5. LeBron James (Basketball)
Total Followers: 157M | Biggest Platform: Instagram (79.9M)
American basketball player LeBron James is ranked fifth on this list of the top social media influencers by athletes. LeBron is widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA players of all time, and he is often compared to legend Michael Jordan in arguments about who is the greatest basketball player of all time. James has a huge fan following and one of the most influential social media figures in the world.
Read: Dhaka Premier Division T20 Cricket League 2021: Confirmed Fixtures
4. Virat Kohli (Cricket)
Total Followers: 195M | Biggest Platform: Instagram (100M)
Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is ranked fourth on this list of the top social media influencers by athletes. Virat Kohli is the current captain of the Indian national team across all formats. He is a top-order batsman who bats right-handed. Kohli is regarded as one of the best batsmen of his generation and one of the all-time greats. In the Indian Premier League, he plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Virat Kohli has a large fan base, particularly in his native country in India, and he is ranked 25th on the list of the world's most popular social media figures.
3. Neymar (Football)
Total Followers: 283M | Biggest Platform: Instagram (146M)
Brazilian footballer Neymar is ranked third on this list of athletes' top social media influences. Neymar is the current captain of the Brazilian national football team. He is a striker for Paris Saint-Germain of the French Ligue 1 and the Brazilian national team. He is widely recognized as one of the world's top players. Neymar has a significant fan following all around the world, and he is ranked 12th on the list of the world's most popular social media figures.
Read: Who is more likely to win the Copa America 2021 between Argentina and Brazil?
2. Lionel Messi (Football)
Total Followers: 298M | Biggest Platform: Instagram (186M)
Argentine footballer Lionel Messi is ranked second on this list of sportsmen with the most social media influence. He is a striker who plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. Messi is widely recognized as the greatest player in the world and one of the greatest players of all time. He has won a record six Ballon d'Or awards, as well as six European Golden Ball trophies. Lionel Messi has a tremendous fan base all around the world. He is ranked 11th on the list of the world's most popular social media figures.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Football)
Total Followers: 517M | Biggest Platform: Instagram (265M)
Portuguese superstar footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is the world's most influential social media person. He plays as a striker for Serie A club Juventus and the Portugal national team. He is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of football. Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or five times and the European Golden Shoes four times. Ronaldo holds the UEFA Champions League records for most goals (134) and assists (42).
Bottom Line
Looking at the top 5 most popular athletes across social media platforms, it is clear that the popularity of footballers worldwide is skyrocketing. Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentina's Lionel Messi, and Brazil's Neymar are very popular. Cricketers are gradually gaining in popularity. India captain Virat Kohli is quite popular now. He is the first cricketer to break into the top 10 list.
Read: UEFA EURO 2020: The favourites, underdogs and outsiders
World Cup silver medalist Bangladesh Archery team return home
Bangladesh Archery team, which brought laurel for the country by clinching the first- ever silver medal from a world meet, returned home Tuesday morning by a flight of Turkish Airlines.
Celebrated archers Mohammad Ruman Shana and Diya Siddique, achieved the country's best result in international sports arena by winning a silver from 2021 Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage-2 concluded in Lausanne, Switzerland last Sunday.
Officials of Bangladesh Archery Federation and Bangladesh Olympic Association greeted the Bangladesh team at the airport.
From the airport, Bangladesh Archery team directly went to Archery Training Academy at the Shaheed Ahsanullah Master Stadium in Tongi for institutional quarantine.
Also read: Bangladesh win first silver in Archery World Cup
The Ruman-Diya pair, which entered Bangladesh's first- ever World Cup dream gold medal match, lost to Gabriela Schloesser and Sjef Van Den Berg of the Netherlands by 1-5 set points in the recurve mixed team final of the world event.
As the number 17 seed, the Bangladeshi pair failed to make another upset in their gold medal match against their much superior Dutch rivals and remained satisfied with the silver.
Earlier, the Bangladeshi mixed pair smartly booked a seat for the final eliminating Canada’s Stephanie Barrett and Brian Maxwell by 5-3 set points in the event's semifinals on Thursday
Ruman and Diya also beat Iran by 5-3 set points, top-seeded Germany 5-1 set points and then Spain by 5-4 in a shoot-off on their way to final.
Ruman, who qualified Bangladesh its first quota place for this years Tokyo Olympic Games at the 2019 Hyundai World Archery Championships in ’s-Hertogenbosch, continued his series of trailblazing performances for his country in Switzerland.
He beat experienced Italian Mauro Nespoli in the bronze medal match in 2019 meet and put Bangladesh on the championship podium for the first time.
Asian Chess: GM Niaz, Enamul share 3rd position
Bangladesh's GM Niaz Murshed and GM Enamul Hossain shared the 3rd position along with 14 other players, securing two and a half points each after the 4th round matches of the Asian Continental Individual Chess Championship 2021 Monday.
The other Bangladeshi players, IM Abu Sufian Shakil and IM Mohammad Farhad Rahman earned two points each while FM Subrota Biswas earned one and a half points.
The ongoing Hybrid Chess is also an event to qualify for the FIDE World Chess 2021.
Read: Prizes of 1st Division Chess League’ 21 handed over
In the day's 4th round, GM Niaz Murshed drew with Indonesia's CM Aditya Bagus Arfan, GM Razib beat Kazakistan's WIM Nazerke Nurgali, FM Subrota lost to Indonesia's GM Susanto Megaranto, IM Shakil beat the Philippines' Gladmir Chester Romero while IM Fahad beat Jimmy Dano of the same country.
The 5th round games will be held Monday from 12noon Bangladesh time and the Bangladeshi players will play from the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall room.
Top Bangladeshi Chess Players of All Time
Chess is well known as the game of intelligence. However, it was invented by the Indians but was not limited to India. People from all over the world have become experts in chess, and some of the countries produced numerous world-class chess players. There are even various national and international events related to chess. Over the years, many Bangladeshi players have participated in different chess events and bring out success for the country. We will discuss the best Bangladeshi chess players of all time. While making the list, we have considered the achievements of the players.
Legendary Chess Players in the history of Bangladesh
Niaz Murshed
When we talk about the Chess players of Bangladesh, Grandmaster Niaz Murshed's name comes first. He was honored with the 'Independence Day Award' by the government of Bangladesh in 1989 for his outstanding achievements in the field of sports. In 1987, Niaz Morshed was awarded Grandmaster at the age of just 21 and became the first Grandmaster in Bangladesh and South Asia as well.
Besides, with that award, Murshed became the 5th Grandmaster of Asia. Niaz Morshed participated in the 'National Chess' competition when he was only nine years old. And at the age of only 12, he became well known as one of the top chess players in Bangladesh. Niaz Morshed was the national champion for four consecutive years from 1989 to 1982.
Read The Best Bangladeshi Footballers of All Time
Ziaur Rahman
Ziaur is the second Bangladeshi player to win the Grandmaster. Besides, he also won the International Master (IM) title in 1993. Forty-seven years old Grandmaster still plays at the national and international level. He won the Bangladesh championship 14 times. Rahman also appeared in the Chess World Cup in 2007 but got beaten in the first round by Russian Super GM Jakovenko.
After that, he qualified for the world cup in 2011, 2013, and 2015, but he could not cross the first round on any of these tournaments. Ziaur Rahman also represented Bangladesh at the Olympiad 13 times from 1986 to 2014. Among all the international events, winning the Nagpur International Open in 2012 is one of his notable achievements.
Read: Bangladesh win first silver in Archery World Cup
Reefat Bin Sattar
Bangladeshi chess player Reefat Bin Sattar won the Grandmaster title. He is the third Grandmaster of chess in Bangladesh. Rifat received the International Master title in 1993. However, he won the International Grandmaster title in 2008 when his FIDE rating exceeded 2,500. All three norms he achieved in the chess competition held in Dhaka. Further, Sattar has competed in seven Chess Olympiads from 1994 to 2006 and proudly represented Bangladesh. He also achieved a good reputation at the national level. Reefat won the national championship six times.
Mollah Abdullah Al-Rakib
Abdullah Al-Rakib is the fourth Grandmaster of Bangladesh. He won the achievement in 2007. Rakib won his first Grandmaster Norm at the 2nd Asian Chess Championship in Kolkata in 2001, the second at the Leonine Chess Club Grandmaster Chess Tournament in 2004, and the third at the National Chess Championship in Dhaka in April 2006.
However, he was supposed to obtain the Grandmaster in April 2007, but a few misunderstandings from the International Chess Federation delayed him. Rakib won the national title two times and became runner up three times in 2003, 2004, and 2006. Furthermore, he attended Chess Olympiads seven times to represent the country.
Read Top Table Tennis players in Bangladesh of All Time
Enamul Hossain
Enamul Hossain Rajib is one of the best chess players in Bangladesh, who won the Bangladesh Chess Championship in 1996 and 2008. Enamul achieved the first norm of his first Grand Master in 2002 after winning the International Master title at the Chess Olympiad held in Slovenia in 2002.
After that, he won the 2nd norm in the Grand Master competition held in Abu Dhabi. He defeated Russian player Pavel Elzanov to win the second norm. On May 4, 2008, Enamul Hossain Rajib received his 3rd and final GM norm. Afterward, he became the fifth Grandmaster of Bangladesh.
Read Top Bangladeshi Golf Players of All Time
Rani Hamid
Rani Hamid was one of the best women chess players in Bangladesh. She won the International Women's Master award in 1975. Rani was the first female international chess master of Bangladesh. Besides, she won the British women's chess championship three times in 1983, 1985, and 1989. Moreover, she also won the gold medal in Commonwealth Chess Championship-2015.
Rani Hamid started playing chess professionally after her marriage as she got inspiration from her husband. She won the National Women's Chess Championship six times from 1979 to 1984. Till 2008, Rani has won the National Women's Chess Championship a total of 15 times. She also represented Bangladesh many times in the Chess Olympiad.
Read: World Archery: Ruman Shana, Diya Siddiqui reach mixed doubles final
Shamima Akter Liza
Liza is the current sensation of a women's chess competition in Bangladesh. She won the Bangladesh Women's Chess Championship in 2005, 2010, and 2014. However, she also became the first Bangladeshi women's chess player to participate in the World Women's Chess Championship in 2015.
She qualified for the world championship after winning the 2014 national title. After that, in February 2017, Liza participated in the World Women's Chess Championship held in Tehran, Iran, but lost in the first round against India's Grandmaster Harika Dronavali.
Sharmin Sultana Shirin
Woman International Master (WIM) winner Sharmin Sultana Shirin is on the rise. She is a female FIDE Master and won the Bangladesh Women's Chess Championship twice. She won the National Women's Chess Championship for the first time in 2009 and later became the undefeated champion at the 33rd National Women's Chess Championship in 2013 for Titas Club. So far, she has played 67 games at the national and international level, and the overall winning percentage is 53%.
Read The most famous Bangladeshi female athletes of all time
Bottom Line
In this era of cricket and football, no one gives proper concentration in chess. Therefore, the country couldn't produce any Grandmaster after 2008. Only India and Bangladesh have grandmasters in this subcontinent. Over the years, the craze for chess is declining, which raises the question, how long can Bangladesh keep this place of pride?
Bangladesh win first silver in Archery World Cup
Archers Mohammad Ruman Shana and Diya Siddique clinched the first silver medal in archery for Bangladesh, the country's best result in a World Cup so far.
As the number 17 seed, the Bangladeshi pair failed to bring the gold home.
The duo lost to the Netherlands' Gabriela Schloesser and Sjef Van Den Berg by 1-5 set points in the recurve mixed event at the second stage of the 2021 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Switzerland's Lausanne Sunday.
Also read: World Archery: Ruman Shana, Diya Siddiqui reach mixed doubles final
World Archery: Bangladesh Recurve Men's, Women's teams eliminated from pre-quarter finals
Bangladesh Recurve Men's and Women's teams were eliminated from the Archery World Cup' 2021 Stage-2 from pre-quarter final stage in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Friday.
Bangladesh Recurve Men's team, consisting of Ruman Shana, Ram Krishna Saha and Tamimul Islam, conceded 4-5 set points defeat against Spain in the elimination round of 8.
Recurve Women's team, comprising Diya Siddique, Beauty Rai and Mehnaj Akhter Monira, suffered 2-6 set points defeat against France, also in the elimination round of 8.
Also read: World Archery: Ruman Shana, Diya Siddiqui reach mixed doubles final
Earlier on Thursday, Ruman Shana pairing with Diya Siddique made a landmark in the country archery by reaching the final of the Recurve Mixed Doubles of the World meet.
The Bangladeshi mixed pair smartly booked a seat for the final eliminating their Canadian rivals by 5-3 set points in the semifinal.
They will play mixed doubles final against the Netherlands on Sunday (May 23) at 3:29pm (Bangladesh time).
Also read: World Archery: Ruman Shana eliminated from recurve singles
Earlier, they eliminated Iran by 5-3 set points in round-12, beat Germany by 5-1 set points in round-8 and eliminated Spain by 5-4 set points in the quarterfinal to reach the semifinal.
Ruman Shana was eliminated from his favourite Recurve Men's Singles in round-16 while Diya Siddique was eliminated from Recurve Women's Singles in round-24 on Wednesday.
World Archery: Ruman Shana, Diya Siddiqui reach mixed doubles final
Bangladesh's celebrated archer Mohammad Ruman Shana, pairing with Diya Siddiqui, reached the recurve mixed doubles final of the Archery World Cup 2021 Stage-2 held in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Thursday.
The Bangladeshi mixed pair smartly booked a seat for the final eliminating their Canadian rivals by 5-3 set points in the event's semifinal.
They will play in the final against Dutch (Netherlands) rivals on May 23 at 3:29pm Bangladesh time.
Also read: World Archery: Ruman Shana eliminated from recurve singles
Earlier, they eliminated their Iranian rivals by 5-3 set points in round-12, beat German rivals by 5-1 set points in round-8 and eliminated Spanish rivals by 5-1 set points in the quarterfinal to reach semifinal.
On Wednesday, Ruman Shana was miserably eliminated from his favourite Recurve Men's Singles in round-16 while Diya Siddiqui was eliminated from Recurve Women's Singles in round-24.
10th death anniversay of Al Musabbir Sadi observed
The 10th death anniversary of renowned sports journalist and former general secretary of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) Al Musabbir Sadi was observed in the capital on Thursday.
Al Musabbir Sadi, popularly Known as Pommel, died in 2011 after suffering from cancer.
He started his career as a journalist in the Daily Independent in 1995 and then joined The Daily Star in 2004.
After working several years with reputation as sports journalist , he joined the BFF in 2009 as general secretary.
Sadi, also a senior member of Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association (BSJA), wrote two books on Indian celebrated cricketer Sachin Tendulkar in 1999 and on West Indian legendary cricketer Brain Lara in 2002 during his bright career.
Marking the death anniversay Sadi and the former SAF Secretary Gerneral Sirajul Islam Bachchu, the BFF arranged a doa mahfil at the Motijheel Jheelpar jame masjid, adjacent to BFF office, Thursday afternoon.
World Archery: Ruman Shana eliminated from recurve singles
Bangladesh's celebrated archer Mohammad Ruman Shana's journey in the Archery World Cup stage-two ended Wednesday with his loss to the USA's Brady Ellison in round-16 of the men's recurve individual event in Switzerland's Lausanne.
Shana lost to Ellison by 2-6 set points after eliminating Estonia's Mart Oonna by 6-0 set points in round-24.
Also, Bangladeshi female archers Diya Siddiqui and Beauty Roy were eliminated from recurve women's singles in round-24.
In the compound men's singles event, archer Asim Kumar Das lost to Iran's Kowsar Seyed Hesameddin by 134-136 points.
On Tuesday, Bangladesh recurve men's team – comprising of Ruman Shana, Ram Krishna Saha and Tamimul Islam – advanced to round-8 where they will play against Spain.
Nadal beats a tired Djokovic for 10th Italian Open title
Rafael Nadal beat a tired Novak Djokovic 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 for a record-extending 10th Italian Open title on Sunday.
The Spaniard recovered from a potentially dangerous fall after tripping over a raised line to take the latest installment of the most-played rivalry in modern men’s tennis.
It also re-established Nadal as the overwhelming favorite for the French Open, where he will be aiming for an even harder-to-believe 14th title starting in two weeks.
Nadal beat Djokovic in straight sets in last year’s Roland Garros final.
The top-ranked Djokovic spent nearly five hours on court Saturday, when he had to rally for a rain-delayed quarterfinal victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas before winning another three-setter over local favorite Lorenzo Sonego in the semifinals. Nadal played only once on Saturday, beating Reilly Opelka in 1 ½ hours.
In the women’s final, reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek routed Karolina Pliskova with a “double bagel” 6-0 6-0.
It was the 57th meeting between Nadal and Djokovic, which is the most matches between two men in the Open era. It was also their ninth meeting in Rome, where they have played more than anywhere else.
Djokovic now holds the slimmest of edges in the all-time series, 29-28, while Nadal holds a 6-3 advantage in Rome overall and 4-2 in Rome finals.
The 10,500-seat Campo Centrale stadium was only a quarter full due to the coronavirus pandemic. But those lucky few in attendance on an overcast day at the Foro Italico made themselves heard, shouting Djokovic’s nickname, “Nole, Nole,” on the big points, or “C’mon Rafa.”
For the second time this week, Nadal tripped over a line that appeared slightly raised on the center court of the Foro Italico. The incident, which resulted in a bloody scrape near the Spaniard’s left knee, made Nadal livid.
At 3-3 in the first set, Nadal chased down a short ball from Djokovic and whipped a cross-court passing shot for a winner. Then his momentum made him slide into the doubles alley and his left foot tripped over the outside line, causing him to roll over onto the clay.
Nadal got up immediately and jabbed his arm into the air angrily and had a word with the chair umpire, who called on court workers to hammer the line further into the clay court.
Nadal had a similar fall in his quarterfinal victory over Alexander Zverev.