The Bangabandhu 12th Teer National Archery Championship 2021, organized by Bangladesh Archery Federation (BAF) and sponsored by City Group, begins Monday at the Sheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium in Cox’s Bazar.

Some 148 archers from 40 teams will compete in the four-day meet for 10 gold medals up for grabs: five each - men’s team, men’s singles, women’s team, women’s singles and mixed team - in the Recurve and Compound Divisions.

The BAF president Lt Gen Mohammad Moinul Islam (Retd) disclosed the details for the competition at a press conference at the BOA auditorium here on Sunday.

Also read: Finals of Victory Day Archery on Wednesday

BAF general secretary Kazi Rajibuddin Ahmed Chapal and Executive Director of sponsors City Group Zafar Uddin Siddiqui also spoke on the occasion, while BAF Vice President M Mahfuzur Rahman Siddique and media convenor Rafiqul Islam Tipu were present at the press conference.

State Minister for Youth and Sports M Zahid Ahsan Russell MP will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony on March 4.

Also read: 4th ISSF Int’l Solidarity World Ranking Archery suspended

The federation officials informed that they are organizing the national meet for the first time outside capital Dhaka, and the reason for choosing Cox’s Bazar was not its reputation as a tourism hub, but rather to habituate the local archers in plying their craft in strong wind conditions.

The country’s premier archer Ruman Shana, who became only the second Bangladeshi athlete ever to qualify directly for the Olympics in Tokyo 2020 (to be held this year due to pandemic), is expected to compete to get used to the windy conditions expected in the Japanese capital. 

League leader Bashindhara Kings forced Dhaka Abahani Limited to taste their first defeat in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Sunday.

In the one-sided match at Bangabandhu National Stadium, six-time BPL Football champion Abahani suffered a crushing 4-1 defeat in the afternoon.

It was the 3rd consecutive defeat for Abahani against Basundhara Kings in the Bangladesh Premier League Football. 

With the day’s 11th win in the league, Kings further consolidated their top position on the points table with 34 points from 12 matches. Dhaka Abahani Limited further went down in the title race with 22 points from 11 matches.

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Dhaka Abahani Ltd followed the leader distantly collecting 22 points each playing 10 and 11 matches respectively.  

Also read: BPL Football: Robinho, Becerra’s hat-tricks help Kings beat Arambagh 6-1

Argentine forward Raul Becerra struck twice, Iranian defender Khaled Shafiei and Brazilian medio Jonathon Fernandes scored one goal each for Federation Cup champion Kings while Haitian forward Kervens Belfort netted the face-saving goal for the popular sky-blue Dhanmondi outfit Abahani.

Raul Becerra opened the Kings’ account in the 18th minute by a rebounder from a goal mouth melee when an attempt of his team-mate came his way hitting side bar (1-0).

Iranian defender Khaled Shafiei doubled the Kings’ margin in the 25th minute by pushing the ball home from a handshake distance when the ball slipped from Abahani custodian in the goalmouth (2-0).

Brazilian medio Jonathon Fernandes and Raul Becerra scored two more goals for the Kings in the 51st and 76th minute respectively (4-0). 

Also read: BPL Football: Sheikh Jamal drop point with Dhaka Abahani in 2-2 draw

With the day’s two goals Raul Becerra emerged as the second-highest scorer in the ongoing league scoring 11 individual goals. Omar Jobe of Sheikh Jamal DC and Robson Robinho of Bashundhara Kings are jointly leading the scoring list with 12 goals each.    

Haitian forward Kervens Belfort scored the face-saving goal for Abahani from penalty in the 81st minute. 

Abahani was awarded the penalty when two Kings defenders brought down onrushing forward Belfort in the danger zone and Belfort did no mistake to convert a spot kick (4-1).

Before the match, former Assistant FIFA Referee Sujit Kumar Banerjee retired from active refereeing.

Also read: BPL Football: Kings consolidate solo lead beating Muktijoddha 3-0

In the day’s other match, coming from behind, lowly Uttar Baridhara Club tasted the first victory in their 11th league match upsetting Sheikh Russel KC by 2-1 goals at the Shaheed Ahsanullah Master Stadium in Tongi.

Ashraful Islam put Sheikh Russel KC ahead in the 15th minute (1-0) while Abdel Rahim leveled the margin for Baridhara Club in the 47th minute (1-1). 

Papon Singh scored the match winner for Baridhara Club in the 74th minute (2-1). 

With the day’s feat, Uttar Baridhara Club advanced to the 9th slot in the 13-team league. They have secured nine points from 11 matches. But Sheikh Russel KC remained at 4th slot with their 17 points from 11 outings. 

 

The much-awaited Bangladesh vs New Zealand limited-overs series will kick off from March 20. The visiting side – Bangladesh will play three ODIs and the same number of T20 matches against the host New Zealand. Team tigers have never won a match against the Blackcaps in New Zealand. Bangladesh lost all 26 matches they played against the Kiwi side in New Zealand. So, Bangladesh team management will be eager to seal a victory in New Zealand especially in the ODI format. On an individual level, some records can be broken during the contest. In this edition, we mentioned a few expected milestones both Bangladesh and New Zealand players can achieve during the series.  

Anticipated Milestones: Bangladesh v New Zealand ODI Series 2021

1000 ODI Runs

Soumya Sarkar needs 265 and Kiwi lower middle-order batsman Mitchell Santner requires 76 more runs to complete 1,000 ODI runs.  

3000 ODI Runs

Tim Latham will complete 3000 ODI runs if he scores at least 304 runs in the series. 

9000 ODI Runs

Also read: Bangladesh ODI Squad Analysis for New Zealand Series 2021

Veteran Ross Taylor will become the first New Zealand player to score 9,000 ODI runs if he scores 426 more runs during the 3-match ODI contest. 

50 ODI Wickets

Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed are in touching distance to scalp 50 wickets in ODI format. Miraz needs 3 wickets, while Taskin is 4 wickets shy to reach the milestone. On the other hand, Kiwi spinner IS Sodhi requires 7 more wickets to complete 50 ODI wickets. 

Read New Zealand Series will define Tamim’s captaincy

200 ODI Wickets

Veteran New Zealand pacer Tim Southee can reach the 200 ODI wickets milestone if he takes 10 wickets during the series.

100 ODI Appearances

Tim Latham is only 1 match shy to complete 100 ODI appearances. 

1000 T20I Runs

Soumya Sarkar needs 115 more runs to complete 1,000 T20I runs.

2000 T20I Runs

Kiwi captain Kane Williamson requires 212 runs and Ross Taylor needs only 91 runs to reach 2,000 runs milestone in the T20I format.

50 T20I Wickets

New Zealand pacer Trent Boult needs 9 wickets, while Bangladesh pacer Al Amin Hossain is 7 wickets away to complete 50 T20I wickets milestone.

Also read: BCB announces Bangladesh squad for New Zealand tour

50 Catches in T20I

Veteran Ross Taylor will complete 50 catches in T20I if he takes 4 more catches for the national side.

350 International Appearances

Tamim Iqbal will become the second Bangladeshi player after Mushfiqur Rahim (379) to complete 350 international appearances for the tigers if he plays 4 matches in the series.

300 International Appearances

Kane Williamson needs to play two matches and Tim Southee will have to play three more matches to complete 300 international appearances for the Blackcaps.

150 International Appearances

Mitchell Santner will have to play at least 5 matches during the series to complete his 150 international appearances for New Zealand. 

100 International Catches

Veteran Martin Guptill has to take 9 more catches to reach 100 international catches milestone.

50 International Catches

James Neesham needs 6, while Henry Nicholls and Liton Das require 7 more catches each to complete 50 international catches.

50 International Dismissals

Liton Das only needs 4 dismissals to complete 50 dismissals in the international circuit.

18000 International Runs 

Ross Taylor is only 138 runs shy to complete 18,000 international runs.

14000 International Runs

Tamim Iqbal has to score 431 more runs to become the first Bangladeshi player to reach 14,000 international runs milestone.

7000 International Runs

Tom Latham needs 212 runs to complete his 7,000 international runs.

3000 International Runs

Liton Das will complete his 3,000 international runs for Bangladesh if he scores 190 runs in the series.

1000 International Runs

All-rounder Mosaddek Hossain requires 104 runs to complete 1,000 international runs. 

500 International Wickets

Trent Boult needs 14 more wickets to complete 500 international wickets milestone.

200 International Wickets

Pacer Rubel Hossain will complete his 200 international wickets milestone if he takes 10 wickets in the series.

150 International Wickets

Kiwi spinner IS Sodhi needs 5 more wickets to complete 150 scalps in the international circuit.

100 International Wickets

All-rounder James Neesham requires 7 more wickets to complete his 100 international wickets for the Blackcaps.

50 International Wickets

Bangladesh all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin needs only 2 more wickets to complete 50 wickets in the international arena. 

League leader Bashundhara Kings will play six-time champions Dhaka Abahani Ltd in one of the two opening 12th round match of the 13-team prestigious Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football here on Sunday.

Two unbeaten and title aspirant teams --Bashundhara Kings and Dhaka Abahani  Ltd --will lock horn in the vital league match at 4:pm at the country's premier sports venue-- Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) here.

After the 11th round matches, Federation Cup Champions and star studded Bashundhara Kings comfortably dominated league table with unbeaten record securing 31 points from eleven matches.

Also read: BPL Football: Robinho, Becerra’s hat-tricks help Kings beat Arambagh 6-1

Dhaka Abahani Ltd and three-time champions Sheikh Jamal DC were in the distant 2nd with unbeaten run collecting 22 points each from ten matches, playing one match than the Kings.

It will be an almost must-win match for Dhaka Abahani to stay in the title race in absence of their injury-grab captain cum striker Nabib Newaj Jibon while well prepared Bashundhara Kings will try best to consolidate their lead further beating Abahani.

Arambagh KS remained at bottom of the 13-team league with only one point playing ten matches while old horse Brothers Union was in the 12th slot bagging two points from ten outings. Both the teams are yet to earn any win in the league.

Also read: BPL Football: Sheikh Jamal drop point with Dhaka Abahani in 2-2 draw

Sheikh Russel KC will play Uttar Baridhara Club in the other 12th round opener on Sunday at 3 pm at the Shaheed Ahsanullah Master Stadium in Tongi.

On the following day (Monday), Federation Cup runners-up Saif Sporting Club will encounter Bangladesh Police FC at 3:45 pm while two lowly team Arambagh KS and Brothers Union Club will meet each other at 6:15 pm, both at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here.

Meanwhile, former Assistant FIFA Referee Sujit Kumar Banerjee will retire tomorrow (Sunday) during the Kings-Abahani crucial match at BNS.

Also read: BPL Football: Kings consolidate solo lead beating Muktijoddha 3-0

Points table of BPL Football till the 11th round matches.(Tabulated under participating clubs, match played, win, draw, loss, points and goal for).

Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal has signed an agreement with Seven Rings Cement to promote the company as its brand ambassador.

Hong Kong-based Shun Shing Group is the mother company of Seven Rings Cement which produces, markets and transports cementitious materials to local and international markets.

After signing the agreement with Seven Rings Cement, Tamim said: "I am very proud to be associated with Seven Rings Cement which is the only cement company that has three cement factories in three different places in Bangladesh."

Also read: New Zealand Series will define Tamim’s captaincy

The southpaw added: "I am also proud to know that Seven Rings Cement is exporting cement to different countries."

Seven Rings Cement's Director Tahmina Ahmed said, "We are delighted to have Bangladesh national cricket team captain Tamim Iqbal as our brand ambassador."

Also read: We believe we can achieve something new in New Zealand: Tamim

Tahmina signed the agreement on behalf of the company.

Seven Rings' Director and CEO Raihan Ahmed, Director Saif Rahman, Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary Md Kausar Alam, and other officials including various department heads were also present on the occasion.