Bangladesh's top two female shuttlers -- Urmi Akhter and Nasima Khatun -- have long been teammates, representing the Bangladesh Army. Both learned the sport in Pabna, yet over the years, a quiet rivalry has developed between them, especially in the finals of national and summer badminton championships.
Barely a month and a half after taking charge, Salahuddin Alamgir has resigned from his post as president of the Bangladesh Badminton Federation. He submitted his resignation letter to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, citing personal reasons.
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.
Now 28 and working as a software engineer, Ayman Ibn Zaman spoke to The Daily Star's Anisur Rahman about his comeback, the evolution of badminton in Bangladesh, and his hopes for the sport's future. Following are the excerpts:
Top-seed Polina, who participated in the Paris Olympics for Ukraine, handed a 21-19, 21-19 defeat to Thailand’s Lalinrat Chaiwan at Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium
For Polina, ranked 69th in the world, the emotional toll of the war remains immense.
Since the political changeover on August 5, a number of international sporting events were moved away from Bangladesh due to the evolving situation. But the country's capital, Dhaka, is now set to host two badminton tournaments this month.
Najeeb Ismail Russel, Bangladesh's first international badminton umpire, died in Guwahati, Assam where he was officiating the Yonex Sunrise Guwahati Masters--2024.
Sifat Ullah Galib and Mustakim Hossain emerged as champions in the doubles event of the South Asian (U-15 & U-17) Regional Junior Championship, beating an Indian pair in the final in Guwahati.
The Indian men's badminton team today made history by winning their first Thomas Cup title after beating holders and 14-time champions Indonesia 3-0 in the final at the Impact Arena in Thailand.
