Anisur Rahman

Bangladesh women’s football team defender Afeida Khandokar was handed the captaincy after 18 players, including most seniors, boycotted training under coach Peter Butler. The lanky centre-back wore the captain’s armband in two friendlies against hosts UAE recently, both matches ending in 3-1 defeats for Bangladesh. Following her return to the country, Afeida spoke with The Daily Star’s Anisur Rahman in an interview, where she opened up about their recent tour, their experience of playing without the seniors, and a few other issues. The excerpts of the interview are as follows:

With newly installed sheds, colourful chairs brightening the galleries, a freshly laid greenish pitch, an athletic track, and decorative touches, the stadium radiated renewed energy. Adding to the spectacle was the electrifying atmosphere created by the excited screams of school-going boys and girls, making the stadium pulse with life once again as it hosted the finals for both boys and girls.

After clinching three golds and one silver at the 37th National Gymnastics Championships, which concluded on Tuesday at the NSC Gymnasium, he spoke to The Daily Star’s Anisur Rahman about his journey, as well as his personal and collective aspirations for Bangladesh gymnastics.

Home-grown sprinters are set to compete to be crowned the country’s fastest man in the upcoming National Athletics Championships as England-based Imranur Rahman, a four-time winner of the event and also the current champion, withdrew himself from the 48th edition of the competition, scheduled for February 17-19 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The 2024–25 campaign has already seen three top-flight clubs facing allegations of betting and fixing

Chasing the seemingly impossible dream of winning gold in the Olympics, the young gymnasts of the Quantum Cosmo School and College in Lama, Bandarban have made a huge splash in the inaugural Youth Gymnastics Championship that concluded at the National Sports Council gymnasium yesterday.

The women’s team excelled once again, winning their second successive SAFF Women’s Championship title, while the men’s team remained stuck in mediocrity. Age-level teams found success at SAFF level while Bashundhara Kings carried on with their domestic domination.

Neer not only claimed the national chess championship but also became the country’s youngest International Master.

Mohammad Moynul Islam Munna, a Bangladeshi coach who has carved out a career in Malaysia, hardly had a moment to spare as he shuffled from court to court, giving instructions to his Malaysian students who are taking part in ongoing Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh International Challenge at Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium in Paltan.

For Polina, ranked 69th in the world, the emotional toll of the war remains immense.

As the Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh International Challenge (YBIC) 2024 begins today, participants from 13 nations converge at Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium in Dhaka. However, the country’s shuttlers are surprisingly entering the ranking tournament without optimum preparation.

Farashganj SC and Uttara FC, teams that were relegated from the country’s second tier football competition the Bangladesh Championship League (BCL) last season, have been greenlit to compete in the upcoming season as well by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) – a development that highlights the absence of a proper structure at that level.

Samin also urged the authorities to arrange an open-top bus to celebrate their “truly memorable” achievement upon their arrival on Friday.

With a month and a half left to Javier Cabrera’s extended contract, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is yet to take any decision whether to extend with the Spaniard or look for a replacement.

Mohammad Dipu has been a standout in the country’s wrestling, holding his ground not only in local village wrestling since a young age but also on the artificial mats at national championships for over a decade.

The Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Army dominated the recent national swimming championships, securing all 42 gold medals and leaving district and club teams, apart from BKSP and the Bangladesh Air Force, without any podium finishes.

The 33rd National Swimming Championship is set to begin on Saturday at the Syed Nazrul Islam Swimming Complex in Mirpur and for the fourth straight edition, the electronic timer installed at the venue in 2019 will remain unused as the authorities are yet to mend the malfunctioning device.

Bangladesh, winners of the SAFF Women’s Championship, returned home from Nepal with their second consecutive regional title amid huge enthusiasm from fans and media personnel at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday.

When legendary footballer Kazi Salahuddin was elected as the president of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) some 16 year ago in 2008, hopes were that the former footballer-turn-organiser would revive the country’s declining football and elevate it to a new height. But unlike his playing days, Salahuddin failed to deliver by and large as an administrator.

While there are exceptions like archery and chess, which have been some of the few professionally managed sporting federations in the country, most sports bodies are still reeling from the uncertainty and hierarchical void left in the aftermath of the July Uprising.