Sports Special
Nahida Akter Interview / 'Earlier 10 people would say negative things, now six do'
As I’m earning now, I have to give more. And I really enjoy doing it and also giving gifts to my family members. I have a younger brother, I have nephews and nieces from my sister’s side. I enjoy doing it for them
‘Now I only give salamis’
For Jaker, this year was a special Eid. The hardworking middle-order batter talked about his time away from cricket during past Eids and his inspirations in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star’s Abdullah Al Mehdi.
Rana celebrating a ‘different Eid’
Just four years ago, Rana was nowhere near competitive cricket. The 21-year-old, who picked up a cricket ball for the first time after crossing 18, has made it to the national team in express speed.
A different kind of Eid for hockey league players
Players featuring in the ongoing Premier Division Hockey League are set to experience a different kind of Eid this time around, with many having to celebrate the joyous occasion away from their kin and others having a shortened holiday period.
Embracing Eid alone: Jamal’s journey far from family
The Bangladesh captain shared his Eid experience in Copenhagen.
A broken leg, a football academy and a dream
When Sathi Munda stepped up to take Bangladesh’s fifth and final penalty in the shootout against India on March 10, 2024, the fate of the SAFF Under-16 Women’s Championship title was hanging in the balance.
From wheelchair to Paralympics: Jhuma’s inspiring journey
“So what if I’m a person with disabilities?” said Jhuma Akhter, with sparks of defiance and confidence in her eyes, to anyone who ever doubted her.
Balancing the sporting scales: Still miles to go
The sporting world in the past decade has witnessed a paradigm shift when it comes to the women’s circuit. In between came the coronavirus pandemic but the uprising proceeded nonetheless.
‘If nothing changes, athletics will fall apart’
Milzar Hossain, one of the most prominent athletes of the country in the 80s, holds the record for the best ever timing by a Bangladeshi in the 800m event, 1:51.16, which he clocked in the 1986 Asian Games to finish fifth. The 58-year-old SA Games silver medalist spoke with The Daily Star's Anisur Rahman about the current state of athletics in Bangladesh and what needs to be done to improve it.
Running towards extinction!
Not that long ago, there used to be a dogfight among a number of teams for medals in the national and summer athletics championships.
In India, when you grow up, you work really hard for everything: Jaiswal
"In India, when you grow up, you work really hard for each and everything. Even when getting the bus you have to work really hard to get on the bus," said Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Commando’s shot into athletics record
A former member of the force which provides security for the Prime Minister and the President, Sarwar had a couple of pauses in his athletic pursuits. But he keeps coming back to track and field, which helped him clear 14.89 metres in the shot put event and eclipse the previous record set by Mohammad Ibrahim in 2019 by 0.36 metres.
Sports, politics and the ugly by-product
Ideally, sports and politics should never mix, but inevitably, sports and politics always mix.
A referee’s refusal to lose hope
In 1998, SM Kamrul Islam Babu, a native of Dhulgram village in Abhaynagar upazila, Jashore, badly injured both of his hands while working with a shallow machine at a fish enclosure.
‘Local coaches shun the overseas-trained players’
Abdur Razzak, a local coach who holds an AFC A level certification, was involved with the selection process in all three talent hunt programmes and accompanied the four promising players in Brazil as coach. The 55-year-old, who has been in the coaching profession for 23 years, spoke with The Daily Star’s Anisur Rahman about what happens in such overseas training programmes and why have the budding footballers not been able to make it big after returning home.
Talent sought, found and forgotten
In July of 2020, at a time when Bangladesh like the rest of the world was battling the coronavirus, an image of a young man wielding a broom started making rounds in the country’s social media.
Comilla unwilling to stay in next BPL without revenue sharing
Bangladesh Premier League’s (BPL) planning and professionalism have often come under scrutiny due to the lack of structure. Comilla Victorians are the most-successful franchise in BPL history and organise themselves better than most in building a star-studded BPL team. Their success is reflected in the way the franchise run their business model but the franchise also has problems with the financial model the BPL is run with. Comilla Victorians owner Nafisa Kamal discussed whether BPL has been a profitable venture, the problems with the tournament’s branding, Comilla Victorians’ brand value, wishing for women’s franchise cricket and most importantly the fact that the owner feels the franchise may not continue in next BPL due to the absence of revenue-sharing model.
‘Plucking U19 players directly for national team not ideal’
The Asian Champions Bangladesh Under-19 team will soon fly to South Africa in pursuit of their second ICC Under-19 World Cup, which begins on January 19. The Daily Star’s Mazhar Uddin caught up with Bangladesh Cricket Board’s game development committee chairman Khaled Mahmud Sujon where he spoke about his expectations from the upcoming event and about preparing future stars in an exclusive interview.
