Contrasting starts for men and women

The Bangladesh men's and women's team got off to contrasting starts in the IHF Trophy handball tournament at the Shaheed Captain M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium yesterday.

The Bangladesh U-19 women's team easily thrashed their Sri Lankan counterparts 46-14 with brilliant performances from Shifa, Parul and Shahida Banu, who combined for 21 goals.

Shifa -- the only player to have represented the national team -- scored one goal after another and finished with nine goals, while players like Parul (seven goals) and Shahida (five goals) came through as well.

The women will play their second match against Afghanistan tomorrow.

The men on the other hand had a bitter experience as they failed to cope with the speed of their Indian counterparts who handed them an emphatic 31-45 defeat.