Swad retains national badminton crown, Nasima unseats Urmi

Khandokar Abdus Swad completed a hattrick of national titles but Urmi Akter failed to do the same as the 39th National Badminton Championship concluded at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium in Dhaka on Saturday.

Defending champion Swad of Ansar & VDP brushed aside Al Amin Zumar of Bangladesh Army in the men's singles final by 21-14, 21-04 points.  This was a third consecutive national title for Swad, who had beaten the same opposition in the first of his three national triumphs back in 2022.

Speaking to reporters after the final victory, the shuttler from Pabna said that even if the final victory was comfortable enough for him, it wasn't an easy tournament overall.

"I couldn't practice for a month due to an injury. There was pressure to prove myself when I came back. Ayman (Ibn Zaman) Bhai had also come from the United States, and the others also played well. This competition wasn't easy. It was tougher than other times," Swad said.

The win helped Swad to a monetary award of Tk 1500,000. Al Amin, the runner-up, got a cash reward of Tk 100,000.

Women's two-time defending champion Urmi of Bangladesh Army, meanwhile, lost against her teammate, Nasima Khatun, in the final by 12-21, 21-17, 21-17 points. This was a sweet revenge for Nasima, who had lost the women's singles final against Urmi last year.

"Even though I lost the first game, I didn't lose confidence. I knew I could do it. Now my goal is international success. I want to win a medal at the SA Games," Nasima told the media after her victory.

Nasima received a cash prize of Tk 100,000 while Urmi bagged Tk 50,000.

A total of 457 shuttlers -- 377 of men's and 80 of women's -- from 92 teams participated in 10 vents of the five-day meet, which had a total prize purse of Tk 900,000.