Despite 2024 being a tumultuous year for the country, with sporting activities halted a number of times owing to the July Uprising, the sporting achievements of Bangladesh on the international stage have been quite impressive.

The year started with the women's youth football team winning the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship at home in February, a success that was followed up by their male counterparts in the SAFF U-20 Championship in Nepal in August.

In cricket, Bangladesh men's team earned a few historic victories, including a Test series whitewash of Pakistan in Pakistan in August-September and a first-ever T20I series whitewash against West Indies in the Caribbean in December.

However, three achievements, according to The Daily Star Sports team, stood out among all.

On December 3, Bangladesh hockey created a piece of history by sealing their maiden qualification for next year's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup during the Junior Asia Cup in Muscat where they eventually finished fifth.

Hot on the heels of this success came a cricketing achievement as all-rounder Azizul Hakim Tamim led Bangladesh to a successful defence of ACC Men's Under-19 Asia Cup title in UAE, beating archrivals India by 59 runs in the final on December 8.

But arguably the most significant of those three successes came on October 30 in Kathmandu as Bangladesh retained the SAFF Women's Championship title, beating hosts Nepal 2-1 in an entertaining final.

It was a victory against all expectations as Bangladesh's buildup to the tournament was quite listless and the campaign itself was chaotic.

Despite being the defending champions, Bangladesh went to Nepal without having played any preparation matches in four months. And they started the tournament with a frustrating draw against Pakistan, the aftermath of which opened up a can of worms, with the senior players and the head coach slinging mud at each other, right through the campaign.

But since the Pakistan draw, the Bangladesh team grew from strength to strength, brushing aside every opponent that came their way. And one player who shone the brightest in Bangladesh's undefeated campaign was Ritu Porna Chakma, the winger who dazzled with her every move down the left flank, provided deadly crosses for the strikers and turned into a goalscorer when her team needed one.

Ritu Porna was head and shoulders above the rest of the performers, not only in the Bangladesh team but also among all the seven participating teams. She was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, and for us, she was the best sports personality of Bangladesh in 2024.