United News of Bangladesh

The six teams in Bangladesh’s new D3 Trophy selected their coaching staff through a management draft in Dhaka on Tuesday, two days after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) formally announced the tournament. Sohel Islam was picked as head coach of Ace Bluestar, Rajin Saleh by Acme, Mizanur Rahman by Citizens Bank, Mohammad Salahuddin by Fortune Group, Talha Zubair by Seven Rings Cement and Abdur Razzak by Walton Group. The draft was held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, where the BCB presented the teams with a list of 35 coaches from which they selected their staff. Each team picked a head coach, two assistant coaches, a physiotherapist, a strength and conditioning coach and an analyst. The D3 Trophy, formally called the Domestic Three Trophy, is part of a restructuring of Bangladesh’s domestic cricket calendar. The BCB will combine the three formats under one tournament, with the T20 competition beginning on December 15, followed by the four-day competition in January and the one-day competition in May. The BCB has awarded six institutions the rights to operate the six teams for three years at a cost of taka 250 million each per year. National team batting coach Mohammad Ashraful and bowling coach Talha Zubair are also among the coaches selected for the tournament. They will work with their D3 teams when the national team have no commitments. Teams can also appoint coaches who went unselected in the draft if a member of their coaching staff is unavailable. The assistant coaches selected were Humayun Kabir and Hannan Sarkar by Seven Rings Cement; Faisal Hossain and Tarek Aziz by Acme; Dollar Mahmud and Tushar Imran by Walton; Abdul Qayyum and Mohammad Ashraful by Fortune Group; Mohammad Selim and Najmul Hossain by Citizens Bank; and Ashikur Rahman and Salauddin Ahmed by Ace Bluestar.

South Korea’s An Se-young strengthened her status as the world’s top-ranked women’s badminton player Tuesday by winning her second consecutive Asian Games gold medal. An defeated Japan’s three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-9 in the final to claim the title. The victory adds another major achievement to An’s career. She is also an Olympic champion from the Paris Games and a two-time world champion. Badminton is hugely popular across Asia, where the sport is known for its fast pace, long rallies, diving saves and powerful overhead shots. An reached the final after beating China’s Chen Yufei in the semifinals, extending her winning streak against her Chinese rival to five matches. The South Korean star has also been outspoken about conditions within her national team. After winning Olympic gold in Paris two years ago, she said national training officials had made her compete despite a knee injury and criticized what she described as outdated training methods. An later threatened to compete independently but ultimately decided against leaving the national team system. Shuttlecock shortageWhile it has not affected competition at the highest level, the rising price and limited supply of traditional shuttlecocks have become a concern in badminton. China is the world’s leading producer of shuttlecocks, but a decline in poultry production in recent years, partly linked to bird flu, has reduced the supply of goose and duck feathers used to make them. The shortage has pushed prices higher and encouraged officials to consider synthetic alternatives. Earlier this year, the Badminton World Federation approved synthetic shuttlecocks for use in lower-level competitions. Players have noted that synthetic models have different speed and flight characteristics from traditional feather shuttlecocks. The BWF said the initiative is part of its long-term effort to assess synthetic shuttlecocks for possible use in elite-level competitions.

Roberto Mancini's Italy produced a commanding performance in his second game in charge, defeating Turkey 4-1 in the Nations League on Monday, while Michael Olise scored late to give France a 1-0 victory over Belgium. Italy's emphatic win was a major improvement from Friday's 2-0 home defeat to Belgium, when the Azzurri struggled to impose themselves. The result also came six months after Italy failed to qualify for a third successive World Cup. Their next challenge will be significantly tougher as they travel to face France on Friday. France, meanwhile, secured its second victory under new coach Zinedine Zidane despite being without injured Kylian Mbappe. Kayode makes impressive Italy debutBrentford defender Michael Kayode marked his Italy debut by scoring once and assisting another goal as the visitors quickly took control. Italy went ahead in the ninth minute after Turkey's Zeki Celik failed to clear a corner properly, allowing Alessandro Bastoni to fire the loose ball into the roof of the net. Davide Frattesi doubled the advantage in the 22nd minute, finishing from close range after Turkey goalkeeper Altay Bayindir had parried Kayode's effort following a well-constructed team move. Kayode then added Italy's third five minutes later, finishing into the bottom-right corner after being played through by Pio Esposito. It was Italy's first three-goal opening half-hour in a competitive match in five years. Turkey reduced the deficit shortly after halftime when Baris Alper Yilmaz capitalized on a lapse in Italy's defense. However, Esposito restored Italy's three-goal cushion three minutes later, heading in the rebound after Sandro Tonali's curling effort struck the post. Pio Esposito's older brother Sebastiano also started the match, making it the first time since 1915 that two brothers had been named in Italy's starting lineup. Olise delivers late for FranceFrance controlled much of its match against Belgium and struck the woodwork twice before Olise finally found the breakthrough two minutes from full time. Mbappe missed the game after suffering a left-knee injury in Friday's 1-0 victory over Turkey, in which he scored his record-extending 67th international goal. Zidane made nine changes to his starting XI and handed international debuts to Jeremy Jacquet, Andy Diouf and Lucas Da Cunha. Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens kept his side in the contest with several important saves. Desire Doue hit the crossbar in the 12th minute, while Da Cunha's powerful effort from 25 yards struck the post. France eventually found the winner in the 88th minute when Olise collected the ball inside his own half, raced down the right flank, cut inside and fired a low shot into the bottom-left corner.

Bangladesh have already crashed out of their maiden appearance at the FIFA Asean Cup, having looked distinctly mediocre against East Asian opponents again, even though most observers agreed they had shown some improvement in their second Group A fixture on Monday, losing 1-0 against Singapore in Jakarta. Earlier a dreadfully colourless performance from Bangladesh saw them crashing to a 3-0 defeat against Malaysia at the same venue in their opening fixture on Wednesday. Bangladesh coach Thomas Dooley made four changes to his starting lineup from the one that took the field against Malaysia. They saw Jamal Bhuyan (replaced Sohel Rana), Zidane Yousuf (replaces Shakil Topu), Shuki Itofusa (replaces Farhaan Ali Wahid), and Sheikh Morsalin (replaces Fahamedul Islam) introduced into the lineup. Both sides adopted a more cautiously tactical approach on Monday, with clear cut chances few and far between. The Bangladeshi keeper however, was certainly the busier of the two custodians, at least in the first half. But in the 35th minute, what looked like a quite innocuous cross from the left was met by a strong header from just inside the box by Harhys Stewart, and all Mehedy Hasan could do was pick it out of the back of his net. The Singaporeans would also hit the crossbar before the first half ran out, as the gap in quality between the two sides, particularly up front, threatened to expose itself. In the second half though, they seemed happy to just protect that lead, able to rely on Bangladesh’s lack of quality when it comes to creating and converting chances, and take home the 3 points. That keeps them in contention to qualify for the next round on Matchday 3, when they take on Malaysia. Bangladesh will have pride to play for on the same day, when they close their campaign against hosts Indonesia. 

The Asian Games feature many sports that may be less familiar to audiences outside Asia, including kabaddi, sepaktakraw, wushu and kurash. Alongside popular Olympic sports, the Games provide a platform for traditional and regional competitions that have strong followings in parts of Asia but have yet to gain the same global popularity. Among them, kabaddi is perhaps the most distinctive. Believed to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, the contact team sport is hugely popular in India, where professional leagues attract millions of viewers. Historically, the game was used to develop strength, agility, breath control and self-defense skills. India won both kabaddi gold medals at the Asian Games, with the women's team beating Iran 37-34 and the men's team defeating Iran 40-34. Indian player Pawan Kumar said his team focused on protecting its lead after gaining an advantage. “Once we had the lead, we wanted to protect it,” Kumar said. “So we played safe and used the time available to us. That helped us maintain our advantage until the end.” Kabaddi is played without a ball, bat, goal or racket. Instead, players use tags, tackles and wrestling techniques. The sport was featured as a demonstration event at the 1936 Berlin Olympics but has not become a regular Olympic sport. It has similarities to games such as “Red Rover” in the United States and “British Bulldog” in England. Under the Asian Games format, two teams of seven players compete on a rectangular court. One attacking player, known as a raider, crosses the centerline and has 30 seconds to touch as many opponents as possible before returning to his or her own side without being tackled. A match consists of two 20-minute halves. Teams score by tagging opponents or successfully stopping a raider. Sepaktakraw: volleyball played with the feetSepaktakraw resembles volleyball but comes with a major difference: players cannot use their hands. Instead, they use their feet and other parts of the body to send a ball over a net about five feet high. Depending on the format, teams have two, three or four players. The objective is similar to volleyball — send the ball over the net and make it land on the opponent's side. The ball is smaller than a volleyball or soccer ball and is roughly the size of a cantaloupe or large grapefruit. The sport originated in Southeast Asia and is sometimes called “kick volleyball.” Wushu is also known as kung fuWushu, commonly known as kung fu, is the Chinese term for martial arts. It has been part of the Asian Games since 1990, when it was introduced at the Beijing Games. Although wushu has been proposed for the Olympics, it has never been included as a medal sport. The competition has two main disciplines. Taolu involves athletes performing choreographed routines that demonstrate martial arts techniques, while sanda is a full-contact discipline often described as Chinese kickboxing. Kurash traces its roots to UzbekistanKurash is a traditional form of wrestling with roots in Central Asia, particularly Uzbekistan. The sport includes several folk wrestling styles and is believed to have existed for thousands of years. It made its Asian Games debut at the 2018 Games in Indonesia, where Uzbekistan topped the medal table. Iran, Mongolia, Taiwan and India also won multiple medals at the event.

Cricket powerhouses India and Pakistan reached the Asian Games semifinals without playing a match after rain forced the cancellation of their quarterfinal games on Monday. Defending champions India advanced at the expense of Afghanistan, while Pakistan moved on after their match against Hong Kong was also washed out. The results were decided according to the teams’ world rankings. India, led by Shreyas Iyer and featuring fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and 15-year-old batting prospect Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, are yet to play an official match in the tournament. They did, however, beat Japan in a warm-up game last week. India are the back-to-back T20 World Cup champions and play in the Indian Premier League, the richest cricket league in the world. The Asian Games is being played in the Twenty20 format, which will also feature at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. India will face either Sri Lanka or Nepal in the semifinals, while Pakistan will take on either Bangladesh or Malaysia. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were seeded for the tournament and entered the competition directly at the quarterfinal stage.

Thailand’s Puripol Boonson equaled the Asian record in the men’s 200 meters, while China secured three athletics gold medals at the 2026 Asian Games on Sunday. Boonson clocked 19.88 seconds in the men’s 200m final to match the Asian record set by China’s Xie Zhenye in 2019. China’s Huang Youwen finished second in 20.45 seconds. “It was the first time I’d ever raced someone at that level, and it was a great experience,” Huang said. “We were only 50 meters in, and I could already tell how fast he was.” Huang said he would set ambitious goals ahead of next year’s world championships. China began its gold-medal haul with Chen Yuanjiang’s victory in the men’s 110m hurdles. Chen finished in 13.15 seconds, ahead of Japan’s Rachid Muratake and the Philippines’ John Tolentino. China had won the event at 10 consecutive Asian Games before failing to claim the title at the 2023 Hangzhou Games. “I’m thrilled. We’ve taken this gold medal back,” Chen said after his victory. In the women’s javelin, China’s Asian record holder Yan Ziyi secured gold with a 70.46-meter throw on her opening attempt. Japan’s Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi took silver with 62.70 meters. Yan’s effort also surpassed the previous Asian Games record of 66.09 meters set by compatriot Liu Shiying. “I didn’t expect to wrap it up in one throw,” Yan said, adding that she hopes to target another record at next year’s world championships in Beijing. Singapore’s Shanti Pereira successfully defended her women’s 200m Asian Games title with a season-best 22.78 seconds. China’s 17-year-old Chen Yujie, who won the 100m with a Games record, took silver in 22.93 seconds. Chen said she had planned to stay close to Pereira through the bend before attempting to overtake her in the final straight. In the women’s long jump, China’s Huang Yingying produced a 6.55-meter effort in her final attempt to overtake India’s Ancy Sojan Edappilly by two centimeters. China’s Tan Mengyi won bronze with 6.46 meters. Huang, who also won silver in the triple jump, said she needed to improve her consistency ahead of next year’s world championships and the 2028 Olympics. In the men’s high jump, Chinese Taipei’s Fu Chao-hsuan cleared 2.25 meters to win gold, with India’s Sarvesh Kushare taking silver. Qatar’s 35-year-old Olympic medalist Mutaz Barshim withdrew from the final. Earlier Sunday, Japan’s Hayato Katsuki won the men’s marathon race walk in 3:03:36, finishing ahead of China’s Zhou Yingcheng. Kazakhstan’s Yasmina Toxanbayeva claimed the women’s title in 3:22:20, while China’s Danzengquzong and Ma Li took silver and bronze. China’s men’s and women’s 4x100m relay teams also won their respective heats to advance to the finals.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Sunday unveiled a new three-format domestic tournament that will bring together T20, 50-over and four-day cricket under a single competition in an effort to increase interest in the country’s domestic game. The tournament, called the Domestic Three Trophy, or D3 Trophy, will feature six teams owned by six corporate groups under three-year agreements with the BCB. The six teams are backed by H. Bluestar, Walton Group, Citizens Bank, ACME Group, Seven Rings Cement and Fortune Group. The team owners include three BCB directors: Fahim Sinha of ACME Group, Mizanur Rahman of Fortune Group and Shahniyan Tanim of H. Bluestar. The D3 Trophy will replace three of the BCB’s existing domestic competitions with a single structure. The four-day National Cricket League will remain separate, while the Bangladesh Cricket League’s four-day and one-day competitions and the NCL’s T20 competition will be incorporated into the new tournament. The T20 competition will open the tournament on Dec. 15 at the renovated Jibanananda Das Cricket Stadium in Barishal. The BCB plans to gradually take the competition to all divisions. Khulna is being considered as the second venue, with Dhaka as an alternative. The four-day matches will begin in January, followed by the 50-over competition in May. Across the three formats, the tournament will feature seven four-day matches, 16 one-day matches and 19 T20 matches. Each team will be allowed to sign up to 23 players for all three formats. Coaching staff, analysts, physiotherapists and trainers will also be selected through a draft. The six teams announced their icon players at Sunday’s launch. Walton selected Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Fortune chose Towhid Hridoy, ACME took Mosaddek Hossain, Seven Rings Cement picked Mushfiqur Rahim, H. Bluestar selected Nurul Hasan and Citizens Bank named Mohammad Naim. BCB President Tamim Iqbal said the board had been concerned by criticism that domestic cricket had lost its appeal. “We often hear that domestic cricket has lost its color, that there is no interest and that some call it picnic cricket,” he said. “When we came to the board, we were concerned about this and thought about how we could bring that color back.” Youth and Sports State Minister Aminul Haque said keeping domestic cricket active for six or seven months a year could help narrow the gap between players competing at domestic level and those in the national team.

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé has been diagnosed with a hyperextension injury to the posterior capsule of his left knee, the Spanish club said Saturday. Mbappé suffered the injury during France’s 1-0 Nations League victory over Turkey on Friday, leaving the field shortly after scoring his record-extending 67th international goal. France coach Zinedine Zidane had earlier said the initial prognosis was “not good.” Real Madrid confirmed the injury after medical tests on Saturday but did not provide a recovery timeline or specify the treatment planned for the forward. “After the tests carried out today on our player Kylian Mbappé by Real Madrid’s Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a hyperextension of the posterior capsule of his left knee,” the club said in a statement. France is scheduled to play Belgium away on Monday before facing Italy on Oct. 2 and Belgium again three days later, with the latter two matches set to be held at Stade de France.

World champion Spain extended its unbeaten run to 39 matches after coming from behind to defeat England 3-2 in the Nations League at Wembley on Saturday. Mikel Oyarzabal, who came off the bench, scored the decisive goal in the 74th minute to complete Spain’s comeback after England led 2-1 at halftime. Oyarzabal had also scored the winning goal when Spain defeated England in the 2024 European Championship final. This time, he calmly chipped goalkeeper James Trafford from close range after receiving a pass from Alex Baena. England missed a chance to move 3-1 ahead when Harry Kane failed to convert a second-half penalty, while defensive mistakes also contributed to Spain’s first two goals. “We couldn’t unfortunately convert the penalty, that may have been the decisive moment because I think then Spain would have maybe for the first time believed that their long run of unbeaten games ends here,” England coach Thomas Tuchel told ITV Sport. “The third goal, I think, was the only goal that they really scored. The other ones there were too many individual big mistakes,” he said. Spain, playing its first match since defeating Argentina in the World Cup final, made a fast start when Lamine Yamal scored less than two minutes into the game. Yamal dispossessed England defender Marc Guehi before firing a low shot past Trafford into the far corner. Spain created several chances and Ferran Torres, who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final, twice failed to capitalize after getting through on goal. England eventually equalized in the 36th minute when Antony Gordon finished a quick counterattack after combining with Jude Bellingham. The hosts then took the lead four minutes later as Kane headed the ball, with his effort taking a deflection off Marc Cucurella. England had another opportunity early in the second half after Rodri brought down Kane inside the penalty area. Following a VAR review, a penalty was awarded, but Kane slipped during his run-up and missed. Spain took advantage of the reprieve in the 60th minute. Baena curled a low shot into the corner after Nico O'Reilly lost possession near his own goal. Oyarzabal then completed Spain’s comeback 14 minutes later, converting Baena’s assist. “We had a terrible start, the worst start possible. It makes it so difficult to be behind against this kind of team,” Tuchel said. “There will always be moments where you suffer against a team like this, the details matter. It matters that you take your chances and you reduce the decisive mistakes. This was not in our favor today,” he added. Modric continues to deliver Luka Modric showed his enduring quality at 41, scoring Croatia’s opening goal in a 2-1 away victory over the Czech Republic. Spain leads Group A3 ahead of Croatia on goals scored. New Scotland coach Sebastien Pocognoli began his tenure with a 0-0 draw against Slovenia. Elsewhere, Zeki Amdouni scored twice as Switzerland defeated North Macedonia 3-0, while Joel Pohjanpalo scored a hat trick in Finland’s 7-0 rout of bottom-ranked San Marino.