Aiman's surprise, Shapla's treble

Aiman Ibne Zaman surprised everybody by winning the men's singles badminton gold at the Wooden Floor Gymnasium yesterday. Photo: Star

Aiman Ibne Zaman was the talking point in badminton yesterday. The 15-year-old innocuous looking boy from Bangladesh Railway stunned former champion Mohammad Javed of Narayanganj in three sets to win the title in men's singles at the Wooden Floor Gymnasium in Paltan yesterday.
The Grade XI student of Manarat International School bounced back brilliantly after he lost the first set 14-21. Aiman took the second set 21-12 and the third 21-13 to complete a major shock over the former champion, twice his age.
"I spotted that the opponent was having difficulties on backward movements, so I forced him more into rallies which paid dividends," said Aiman, who had finished third in the national meet last year.
"My father has inspired me all through. He encouraged me after the first set like he always does," said Aiman, who attended a 10-day coaching course under former world No.1 Misbon in Malaysia a couple of months ago and is planning to go for a longer term again.
Meanwhile, Shapla Akter of Narayanganj completed a treble in badminton after she won the women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles yesterday. Shapla beat Chittagong's Rehana Akter to win the singles title while she paired with Nabila of Narayanganj to win the women's doubles and paired with Sazzad to win the mixed doubles title.