India’s women cricketers are within one win of an historic gold medal after defeating host England by four runs in a thrilling Commonwealth Games semi-final on Saturday. After posting 164-5 in the Twenty20 format, its biggest score in the tournament, India restricted previously unbeaten England to 160-6 at Edgbaston. It is the first time women’s cricket has been played at the Games and backers are hopeful a successful tournament will lead to the sport’s inclusion at future Olympics. More than 160,000 tickets were sold prior to the semi-final, a new record for a women’s cricket tournament, and another sizeable crowd attended Saturday’s match. Opener Smriti Mandhana hit 61 in 32 balls to set the tone for India in its innings. England captain Nat Sciver, who has called for women’s cricket to be included in the Olympics, top-scored with 41 in her team’s reply before being run out with less than two overs remaining. India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said: “I am really happy. Everyone is coming in and performing for the team. (The fans) were cheering until the last ball. It was a great opportunity for all the players to perform.” India will play Australia or New Zealand in Sunday’s final. England will meet the loser of that match in a bronze medal playoff. On the track, India’s Avinash Mukund Sable bagged India’s first-ever medal in a long-distance event. Although beaten by just 0.05 seconds in the 3,000 meter steeplechase by Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot, who clocked 8:11.20, the 26-year-old runner felt encouraged by his silver medal-winning performance. “My last lap was a bit disappointing but I am really happy,” Sable said. India’s Priyanka Goswami also picked up a silver in the women’s 10,000-meter walk. After failing to win gold on Day 8, they came in a rush for table-leading Australia on Saturday morning. Ollie Hoare claimed a last-stride triumph in the 1500 meters in 3:30.12, becoming Australia’s first champion in the event since Herb Elliott triumphed in Cardiff in 1958. He beat world champion Jake Wightman of Scotland, who led into the home straight before finishing third behind Hoare and Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot. Australia also picked up golds in lawn bowling, gymnastics, walking and diving to stretch its lead over England after the host nation had closed the gap to three the previous day.

Bangladesh was eliminated from the men's team event quarterfinal of the the 22nd Commonwealth Games in Birmingham losing to India on Sunday..Bangladesh, which reached the quarterfinal defeating Fiji and Guyana, faced stronger India and lost the matchIn the doubles match, Indian Harmeet Desai pairing with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, defeated Rahhimliam Bawm and Ahmed Ridoy of Bangladesh by 3-0 sets. The Indian pair won the games by 11-8, 11-6, and 11-2 points.In the singles match, Sharath Kamal Achanta defeated Rifat Sabbir by 3-0 sets. Achanta won the games by 11-4, 11-7, and 11-2 points. Also read: Commonwealth Games: Bangladeshi lifter Ashiqur Rahman Taj finishes fifth in weightliftingIn the another singles, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran defeated Moutasin Ahmed Ratul by 3-0 sets. He won the games by 11-2, 11-3, and 11-5 points.In the games swimming, Bangladeshi swimmers Asif Reza and Sonia Khatun participated in their events and failed to qualify for the next round.In the women’s 50m Butterfly, Sonia Khatun finished 42nd with a timing of 30.94 seconds.In men’s 100m freestyle, Asif finished 50th with a timing of 54.24 seconds.Bangladeshi athletes will take part in five more events on Monday.In the swimming, Sukumar Rajbonashi will take part in the heat of the Men’s 50m breaststroke, Mahamudun Nobi Nahid will participate in the heat of Men's 100m Butterfly and Morium Akter will compete in Women's 100m Breaststroke.In Boxing, Bangladesh’s Salim will face India’s Mohammed Hussam Uddin in the round of 16 fights in the Men’s over 54kg- 57kg (Featherweight) category. Also read: 22nd Commonwealth Games starts in Birmingham early Friday;athletes to start campaign in four eventsMabia Akter, the national flag bearer of Bangladesh in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games will compete in her event on SundayMabia will be competing in the women’s 64 Kg category of Weightlifting.

As expected, Bangladeshi athletes displayed their dismal performances in five events of the three disciplines of sports on the 2nd day of the 22nd Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Saturday.  But, the day's best moment was created by Bangladeshi weightlifter Ashikur Rahman Taj, who came close win a medal in his event. He became fifth in the men's 55-Kg category of the games weightlifting, according message received by BOA from Birmingham  Ashik lifted total 211 kgs-- 93 Kilograms in snatch and 118 kgs in clean & jerk. Malaysia's Mohamad Aniq Bin Qasdan won the event's gold medal lifting 249 kilograms by setting a games record. Sanket Mahadev Sargar of India lifted just one Kg short of Qasdan to win the silver, Dilanka Isuru Kumara Yodage of Sri Lanka lifted 225 Kg to win the event's bronze medal. In the women’s 49-Kg category, Bangladesh’s Marjia Akter Ekra lifted a total 125 Kilograms -- 55 Kg in snatch and 70 Kg in clean and jerk.  The event's silver medal winner of Tokyo Olympics, India’s Mirabai Saikhom Chanu also competed in Birmingham Games. She lifted 80 Kg in snatch and 105 Kg in Clean and Jerk. Marjia finished overall 10th out of 11 competitors. Bangladesh participated in two swimming events--women’s 50m freestyle and men’s 100m Breaststroke on the day.. Read: First batch of Bangladesh contingent off to Birmingham for Commonwealth Games In women’s 50m freestyle, Sonia Khatun finished last in her heat with a timing of 30.22 seconds. Overall, 70 swimmers competed in this event where two got disqualified, and out 68 of successful swimmer, Sonia finished 61st. Sukumar Rajbonashi became 6th in his heat of the men's 100m breaststroke with timing of 1:07.92 taking eight seconds more than the swimmer, who finished first. Rajabonashi became 30th out of 36 swimmers. In the Table Tennis competition, Bangladesh moved into the quarterfinals as group runner-up despite losing to England by 0-3 sets in men’s team event. Sam Walker pairing with Paul Drinkhall defeated Md Rifat Sabbir and Mufradul partner by 11-1, 11-5, and 11-6 games in the doubles match. In the singles, Liam Pitchford defeated Mohutasin Ahmed Ridoy by 11-3, 11-8, and 11-3 while Paul Drinkhall defeated Mufradul Hamza by 11-2, 11-1, and 11-8.

Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley protested intolerance toward the LGBTQ+ community at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on Thursday. The British diver, who is married to Oscar-winning director Dustin Lance Black, played a key role as one of the last bearers in the Queen’s Baton Relay. The 28-year-old Daley entered Alexander Stadium surrounded by a group carrying Pride flags as part of a broader campaign regarding the toxic culture toward homosexuality held by more than half of the competing nations in the Games. The two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist did so with a broad smile, mindful the event is celebrating a theme of diversity and inclusion, though he also paid tribute to the six people who walked into the stadium carrying the Pride flags. “In over half of the Commonwealth countries, homosexuality is still a crime and in 3 of those countries the maximum penalty is the death sentence," Daley wrote on his Instagram account. "These laws are a legacy of colonialism. This opening ceremony for us is about showing LGBTQ+ visibility to the billion people watching...” The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport Olympic-style event made up of mostly former British colonies. Seventy-two countries and territories are represented. Denise Lewis, an Olympic gold medalist from Birmingham, was the final baton bearer and handed it to Commonwealth Games Foundation president Louise Martin. Read:22nd Commonwealth Games starts in Birmingham early Friday;athletes to start campaign in four events The opening ceremony was described as a love letter to Birmingham, its history and its vibrant, multi-cultural community, with 30,000 tickets sold for the occasion. Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrived at the stadium in an Aston Martin he bought in 1970. The vehicle was a nod to a tribute that featured in the opening ceremony to the West Midlands’ automotive industry featuring cars forming the Union Flag. Prince Charles read a message on behalf of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to open the competition, which will run over the next 11 days. “My warmest thanks go to all those who have worked so hard to ensure the success of this particularly special sporting event and I wish each athlete and team every success,” he said on the Queen’s behalf. Daley is not competing in Birmingham, and Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said the organization was aware of his stand. “We have been working with Tom and we have been working with a wider group,” she said. “You will see Pride flags (in Birmingham). This is a city that absolutely embraces Pride and Pride messaging and it’s definitely something that we’re working in close co-operation with Tom Daley on.” Daley will feature in a BBC documentary titled “Tom Daley: Illegal To Be Me,” scheduled to be released in August at the completion of the event in Birmingham. “I’ve experienced homophobia all my life, competing in countries where it’s illegal to be me and where I don’t feel safe to leave the venue I’m competing in,” he told the BBC. “If I feel like that as a privileged man, I can’t imagine what day-to-day life is like for LGBTQ+ people around the commonwealth. We wanted it to be something that actually makes a difference.” The LGBTQ+ community demonstrated in Birmingham on Thursday to greet the arrival of the Queen’s Baton at Aston Hall after a journey that began at Buckingham Palace in October 2021. A massive global audience was expected to watch the opening ceremony, which has been planned by Steven Knight, the creator of hit Birmingham-based series Peaky Blinders. More than 5,000 athletes have arrived in England for the competition and it has been reported that more than 1 million tickets have been sold. The Progress Pride flag is on display throughout the city and organizers are promoting the inclusivity of the sixth edition of the Commonwealth Games held in England. But Sadleir conceded there were limits to the action the Commonwealth Games Foundation is able to take when it comes to the intolerance towards the LGBTQ+ community of several participating nations. “We can’t go in to change the rules in countries, but what we can do is create opportunities for people to discuss issues in a safe environment,” she said. “Whenever we’re given the opportunity to talk about our values, we do that.”

In the first batch 20 atheletes from the 50-member Bangladesh contingent left Dhaka for England on Monday evening to participate in the 22nd Commonwealth Games' 2022.  The Games will be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8. The Bangladesh contingent includes 29 athletes in seven disciplines of sports --Athletics, Boxing, Gymnastics, Swimming, Weight-lifting, Wrestling, and Table Tennis.  There are 21 officials in the contingent.  Bangladesh's most prospective discipline "Shooting", from which the country earned eight medals including two golds, was not included in the ensuing games. So, this time, Bangladesh is just looking for improving their individual best and gathering experiences.         Country's famed weight-lifter Mabia Akther Simanta, who clinched the gold medals in the last two SAFF Games, will carry national flag during the march past of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. General Secretary of Bangladesh Athletics Federation Advocate Abdur Rakib Montu will lead the contingent in the parade. Rakib will fly to Birmingham from the US.  All the athletes excluding those in Athletics and Wrestling, left the capital in the first batch. The Athletics and Wrestling teams will join the Bangladesh contingent in Birmingham later. Read: Bangladesh Women’s Team Misses Out to Qualify for Commonwealth Games Cricket Tournament 2022 The expatriate gymnast of Bangladesh team Ali Kader Haque already reached Birmingham fron New Zealand with his coach Devid Michal.   The athletes who departed are:  Boxers Hossain Ali, Sur Krishna Chakma, Salim Hossain; Gymnasts Shisir Ahmed, Abu Sayed Rafi; Swimmer Asif Reza, Sukumar Rajbongshi, Sonia Khantun, Mahmudun Nabi Nahid, Marium Akhter; Lifters Mabia Akhter Simanta, Marzia Akhter Ikra, Monira Kazi, Ashiqur Rahman and Table tennis players Mohtasin Ahmed Hridoy, Rifat Mahmud Sabbir, Mufdradul Khair Hamza, Ramhin Rion Boom, Sonam Sultana Soma and Sadia Rahman Mou.