United News of Bangladesh

Rangpur Division reached the semifinals of both the men's and women's football competitions of the Sheikh Kamal 2nd Bangladesh Youth Games' 2023 eliminating their rivals on the opening day at two different city venues on Sunday (February 26).  In the men's competition, Rangpur and Sylhet Division reached the semifinal eliminating their rivals at the Outer Stadium in Palton Sunday morning. Rangpur beat Dhaka by 2-1 goals while Sylhet overcame Mymensingh beating them by 5-3 goals in the tie breaker as the match was locked in a goalless position in the schedule time. Khulna Division scheduled to play Chattogram Division while Rajshahi Division due to meet Barishal Division in the remaining men's group matches on Sunday..  In the women's group, Dhaka Division booked a seat for the semifinal defeating Khulna Division by 3-0 goals while Rangpur Division storm into the last four stage crushing Sylhet Division by 13-0 goals on the opening day (Sunday) at the BFF Artificial turf in Motijheel Sunday afternoon. The remaining two women's group matches will be held on Monday at the same venue.  Read more: 'When Shakib and I step onto the field, nothing else holds importance for us': Tamim Rajhahi Division will play Barishal Division at 12:30 pm while Mymensingh Division will encounter Chattogram Division at 2:45 pm.on Monday In the men's semifinal on Tuesday, Rangpur will play winners of Chattogram and Khulna at 12 noon while Sylhet will face the winners of Rajshahi and Barishal Divisions at 3 om at the Outer Stadium in Palton. In the women's semifinal on Wednesday, Dhaka Division will meet the winners of Rajshahi and Barishal Division at 12:30 pm at the BFF Artificial turf in Motijheel 

Both the semifinals and final of the 32-team Kool-BSJA six-a-side Media Cup Football Tournament'2023 will be held on Wednesday (January 25), the closing day of the five-day meet at the Artificial Turf of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) here.   Boishakhi TV will play Kalbela in the first semifinal at 9:30 am while Channel i will face DBC TV in the other semifinal, also at 9:30 am on Wednesday. Read more: Kool-BSJA Media Cup Football moves to quarter-finals The final match will commence at 11:30 am on the same day at the same venue. In the day's quarterfinals, Kalbela beat RTV 2-0; Boishakhi TV defeated Bangladesh Tribune 1-0; DBC eliminated Daily Star 2-0 while Channel i outplayed Jagonews 3-1 Tuesday morning.

Both semifinals of the Bangabandhu National Football Championship will be held Friday at the Bir Sreshtho Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur, Dhaka. Bangladesh Army will face Mymensingh in the first semifinal at 3pm. Chattogram will lock horns with Magura at 6pm Friday. The final match will be held Monday at 4:30pm at the same venue. READ: School Football: Chomiruddin School , Benapol Secondary School win Earlier, Bangladesh Navy reached the semifinal beating Mymensingh 1-0 in the final round match on June 25. But they were eliminated from the tournament for fielding an illegal player against Mymensingh.   Finally, the Bangladesh Football Federation disciplinary committee in a meeting Thursday reviewed the allegation and found Navy guilty. So, it declared Mymensingh the winners against Navy.

Both the semifinals of the season’s curtain raiser soccer meet, the Riviera Independence Cup Football '21, will be held on Tuesday (Dec 14) at the Bir Shrestha Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur Group A champions Dhaka Abahani Limited will play Saif Sporting Club in the first semifinal at 5:15 pm while league champions Bashundhara Kings will meet Bangladesh Police at 8 pm, both on Tuesday at the same venue. READ: Independence Cup Football: Police book first-ever semifinal berth at Sheikh Russel KC’s expense After three-day recess, the title deciding final match will be held on Saturday (Dec 18), timing of the match yet to be announced. Earlier in the quarter finals, Dhaka Abahani Limited outplayed Bangladesh Army 4-0, Saif SC beat Swadhinata KS 2-0, Police FC upset last times runners-up Sheikh Russel KC 1-0 while Bashundhara Kings crushed Sheikh Jamal DC 4-0. READ: National Football: Rangamati, Bagerhat districts win matches  

Riding on a wonderful bowling performance by their experienced pace attack, New Zealand beat Afghanistan by eight wickets in their fifth and last Super 12s match of the ongoing T20 World Cup to book their place in the semifinals. The result eliminated not only their Afghan opponents but also pre-tournament favourites and cricketing powerhouse India, where the knives have already come out as the blame game ensued over what will be seen as nothing less than a debacle. The eyes of the entire Indian nation were on this match in Abu Dhabi, where the pitch has offered a bit for the seam bowlers all tournament. A win for Afghanistan would have meant a possible 3-way tie on points in the semifinals race, but favouring India who play Namibia tomorrow in the last match of the Super 12 phase. But Mohammad Nabi's side failed to trouble a New Zealand side who completed the job at hand with ruthless efficiency, rendering the India-Namibia game meaningless, except for pride. It was Afghanistan's third defeat in the five matches they played in the Super 12s, while it was the fourth win for New Zealand. From this group, Pakistan were the first team to qualify to the semifinals with four straight wins. They take on Scotland in their last Super 12s clash tonight. It means all four semifinalists have had to win four games to qualify. South Africa, in Group 2, missed out despite four wins. On Sunday, Afghanistan won the toss in Abu Dhabi and opted to bat first. They lost three batters inside the powerplay while facing the quality pace attack of New Zealand. The first three wickets of Afghanistan were taken by three New Zealand pacers. Najibullah Zadran, who came to bat at number five, posted a huge 73 off 48 balls with six fours and three sixes. But the other batters were not able to accompany him. Afghanistan were kept down at 124 for eight. For New Zealand, Trent Boult bagged three wickets conceding 17 runs in four overs while Tim Southee took two for 24 in four overs. In reply, losing Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell for 28 and 17 respectively, New Zealand chased down the target of 125 in 18.1 overs and sealed the match with eight wickets in hand. Kane Williamson and wicketkeeper-batter Devon Conway were unbeaten for 40 and 36 respectively. This win helped New Zealand top the points table in Group 2. They now have a better run rate, +1.16, than Pakistan’s +1.06. Both these themes have secured eight points each. However, Pakistan will get a chance to surpass them as they still have a match to play against Scotland. With one match to play, India and Namibia have secured four and two points respectively. Scotland are the only team in this group who are yet to secure any points. The result of the match between Pakistan and Scotland will determine who are the champions of Group 2, and according to that, the semifinals line-up will be finalized. Meanwhile, England and Australia have secured the semifinals berths. Both these teams have earned eight points each. South Africa had also secured eight points, but Australia overpowered them by a better run rate. The first semifinal of this T20 World Cup will take place on November 10 while the second will be played on November 11. The final will be played on November 14 in Dubai.

Bangladeshi creative impressionist artist and painter Mahfuzur Rahman has recently been positioned as one of the semifinalists in the “Artist of The Year” art competition, organized by the United Kingdom-based art organization The Artist Lounge. His painting, titled "Ancestors", secured him this prestigious position at the first-ever edition of this competition and the artwork is now being exhibited in the virtual exhibition. The competition called for artists worldwide, from June to July 2021, to share their best creations, offering 14 awards with artworks being entered in 12 different categories. READ: Young Bangladeshi artists honor Gandhi through art “We are absolutely delighted with the overwhelming number and quality of entries - the standard was outstanding (with applications from 26 different countries) and it certainly made it very hard for our curators to shortlist the artworks moving forward to the next phase,” the organization stated about the competition. Based in Dhaka, Bangladesh and currently residing in Dubai, UAE, artist Mahfuzur Rahman shared his feelings and excitement over this achievement to UNB.

Both the semifinals of the Bangabandhu Federation Cup Basketball Tournament will be held on Tuesday at the Dhanmondi Basketball gymnasium.

Karachi Kings qualified for the semifinals and eliminated two-time champion Islamabad United from the Pakistan Super League after a four-wicket win on Saturday.

Bangladesh Under-19 cricket team stormed the semifinals of the ongoing ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa beating the hosts in the 3rd quarterfinal by huge 104 runs at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom on Thursday.

Hosts Bangladesh reached the semifinals of the ongoing six-team Bangabandhu International Gold Cup Football Tournament thrashing Sri Lanka by 3-0 goals in their 2nd and last Group A match at the crowded Bangabandhu National Stadium here on Sunday.