Ashfaq Ul Mushfiq

Goalkeepers stealing everyone’s thunder

Argentina fans around the globe were expressing gratitude after Lionel Messi's last dance in the FIFA World Cup was extended by at least one more week following a 2-1 win over Australia in the Round of 16 on Saturday.

1y ago

Women footballers paint Dhaka Red and Green

Open top bus parades are conventional in Europe, where World Cup winners like Germany, Spain and Italy and Champions League giants like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and AC Milan have made such celebrations customary.

2y ago

Alfaz hopes 'this is only the beginning’

It was a cold, rainy evening at the Dasarath Rangasala in Kathmandu, but it was not only the weather that was conspiring against Bangladesh. There was also a hostile capacity crowd, cheering on hosts Nepal, but the women held their nerve and clinched their most significant milestone by winning a maiden SAFF Women's Championship title with a 3-1 victory in yesterday's final.

2y ago

‘Failure is very rare in Nikli’

Swimmer Karar Samedul Islam, a product of the Nikli Swimming Club, won one silver and three bronze medals in the 2004 SAF Games in Islamabad. Considered one of the best swimmers produced in Bangladesh, Samedul spoke about a journey that began at a club in Kishoreganj and shared the secrets of Nikli’s success while speaking to The Daily Star’s Ashfaq Ul Mushfiq.

2y ago

The long wait is over for shuttlers

Sport was halted by the Covid-19 pandemic and although some have already come out of that slumber, other disciplines are still trying to find their feet. Finally, after a patient three-year wait, the 37th edition of the National Badminton Championship is set to take the stage at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium in Dhaka today.

2y ago

In sync despite being 5 thousand miles apart

The beautiful game has been the most popular sport on the planet for over a century, but although the field has been dominated by men for most of its history, times have begun to change in the last few decades.

2y ago

Beneath the surface of local strikers’ struggles

 “I have always said that scoring a goal is the best feeling in the world,” legendary English striker Alan Shearer once said. In football, where goals decide destinies, it is a striker’s role to deliver balls to the back of the net.

2y ago

Joty in awe of Mithali being a voracious reader

Indian women cricket team captain Mithali Raj announced her retirement from international cricket this Wednesday, drawing curtains on an illustrious career of 23 years during which she established herself as the country's greatest female batter. Many cricketers around the globe look up to Mithali's career and Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty is no different. 

2y ago
February 5, 2022
February 5, 2022

‘I break records for fun’

Ashraful Islam, commonly known as “Jhohan Freestyle”, is a young boy from Chattogram who broke four Guinness World Records in freestyle football. He spoke to The Daily Star about how he got started on his record-setting journey and his ambitions for the future.

February 5, 2022
February 5, 2022

Amateur cyclists make the grade

Bangladeshi cyclists Drabir Alam, Tanvir Ahmed, Mohammad Alauddin and Rakibul Islam, better known as Team BDC, claimed the Guinness World Record greatest distance cycled in 48 hours by a relay team by cycling 1670.334 km last month.

January 6, 2022
January 6, 2022

The synergic process of the Tigers

Shadman Islam, seeing out the new ball: Despite not scoring big runs, Shadman’s 43-run opening stand with Mahmudul Hasan Joy till the 19th over was enough time for the new ball to wear, making life easier for the middle-order batters.

November 28, 2021
November 28, 2021

‘Starting from zero is always a challenge’

It was the second over of the first session of Day Two yesterday, where Liton Das was standing on 114 runs as he was about to face Hasan Ali’s last ball of the over.

October 10, 2021
October 10, 2021

Athletics dream with Imranur

After the inception of the South Asian Games in 1984, Bangladeshi athletes had produced stellar performances in the first three editions, with Shah Alam becoming the fastest man in 1985 and 1987.

August 13, 2021
August 13, 2021

Fans return to a changed landscape

When football returned following its slumber owing to the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, one of the beautiful game’s key elements eluded it. Fans, whose presence had been taken for granted for decades, were suddenly forced to stay away and watch the teams they love from home for an entire season.

July 25, 2021
July 25, 2021

‘Today, women can take up football as a profession’

The Daily Star (DS): Did you start the season with the target of reaching the 100-goal landmark?

July 16, 2021
July 16, 2021

‘We don’t know who we are playing against’

Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal expressed consternation regarding the delay in the announcement of Zimbabwe’s squad ahead of the three-match ODI series during an online press conference on the eve of the first ODI yesterday.

June 6, 2021
June 6, 2021

Resolve strengthened by defensive solidity

After an 84th minute equaliser earned Bangladesh a draw against Afghanistan in the World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers on Thursday, the men in red and green’s compact defence and their desire to chase the game till the final whistle were widely appreciated by coaches and football lovers all over the country.

May 31, 2021
May 31, 2021

Tuchel’s simplicity trumps Pep’s convoluted plans

In every encounter, there is a winner and a loser. And in the clash of two tactical masterminds, the pedagogue Pep Guardiola was overshadowed by