Sports
British sports hold day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II
British sports were holding a day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, with high-profile golf, cricket and horse racing events canceled Friday as a mark of respect and the Premier League meeting to discuss whether to call off games scheduled for the weekend.
The BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event on the European tour, was paused near the end of the first round Thursday following the announcement of the queen's death — there were still 30 players out on the course — and there will be no play Friday.
“We remain hopeful of restarting at some stage over the weekend,” the tour said Friday in a statement, adding that it would be reviewing “protocol guidance from Buckingham Palace” while also aligning with the decisions made by other sporting events in Britain.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has already announced that there would be no play on Friday in the third and deciding test between England and South Africa at the Oval. There was no update on whether play would be resuming over the weekend.
Other events called off included the third day of horse racing's St. Leger festival in Doncaster — horse racing was the queen's favorite sport — and cycling's Tour of Britain, which also canceled the final two stages of the race scheduled for the weekend.
Read: Bangladesh declares 3 days of mourning for Queen
Soccer matches in the English Football League — the three leagues below the Premier League — and in the Scottish lower league will not be played Friday and matches scheduled to be played in Northern Ireland over the weekend were also canceled.
The Premier League had not yet decided its position, with a meeting being held between the clubs on Friday morning. Factors involved in any decision were likely to include whether holding matches would use up police resources, the desire of broadcasters and the mood of the public.
There is little room in the schedule of this World Cup-affected season to fit in postponed fixtures.
Serena beats No. 2 seed Kontaveit at US Open to reach 3rd Rd
Serena Williams can call it “evolving” or “retiring” or whatever she wants. And she can be coy about whether or not this U.S. Open will actually mark the end of her playing days. Those 23 Grand Slam titles earned that right.
If she keeps playing like this, who knows how long this farewell will last?
No matter what happens once her trip to Flushing Meadows is over, here is what is important to know after Wednesday night: The 40-year-old Williams is still around, she’s still capable of terrific tennis, she's still winning — and, like the adoring spectators whose roars filled Arthur Ashe Stadium again — she's ready for more.
Williams eliminated No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 in the U.S. Open’s second round to ensure that she will play at least one more singles match at what she’s hinted will be the last tournament of her illustrious career.
“There’s still a little left in me,” Williams said with a smile during her on-court interview, then acknowledged during her post-match news conference: ”These moments are clearly fleeting."
After beating 80th-ranked Danka Kovinic in straight sets Monday, then collecting her 23rd victory in her past 25 matches against someone ranked Nos. 1 or 2 against Kontaveit on Wednesday, the six-time champion at Flushing Meadows will play Friday for a spot in the fourth round.
Her opponent will be Ajla Tomljanovic, a 29-year-old Australian who is ranked 46th. They've never met, but Tomljanovic, who said she considers herself a Williams fan, figures she knows what to anticipate from the American — and from those in the seats.
“I was playing on Court 7 both of my matches so far at the same time as her, and I could hear the crowd. I’m like, ‘Court 7 isn’t that close.’ I kept thinking, ‘Oh, my God, that’s annoying me and I’m not even playing against her.’ I don’t know how I’m going to do it,” Tomljanovic said. “What I’m going to focus on is to keep the scoreline close, because I think she gets dangerous if she gets up. She’s the best when she gets ahead.”
On Wednesday, Williams hit serves at up to 119 mph, stayed with Kontaveit during lengthy exchanges of big swings from the baselines and conjured up some of her trademark brilliance when it was needed most.
After pulling out a tight first set, then faltering in the second, Williams headed to the locker room for a bathroom break before the third.
Something had to give, someone had to blink.
When they resumed, it was Williams who lifted her level and emerged as the better player.
Just as she’s done so many times, on so many stages, with so much at stake.
“I'm just Serena. After I lost the second set, I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness, I better give my best effort because this could be it,’” Williams said, surely echoing the thoughts of everyone paying any attention.
“I never get to play like this — since ’98, really," she said. "Literally, I’ve had an ‘X’ on my back since ’99,” the year she claimed her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open at age 17.
Whatever rust accumulated when Williams missed about a year of action before returning to the tour in late June appears to have vanished. She was 1-3 in 2022 entering the U.S. Open.
“Now it’s kind of coming together,” Williams said. “I mean, it had to come together today.”
Williams has doubles to play, too. She and her sister, Venus, have won 14 major championships as a team and will begin that event Thursday night.
Kontaveit, a 26-year-old from Estonia, is a powerful hitter in her own right, the sort that spread across women’s tennis over the past two decades after a pair of siblings from Compton, California, changed the game.
But there's a caveat attached to Kontaveit's ranking: She has never won so much as one quarterfinal match at any Grand Slam tournament in 30 career appearances.
Read:Serena Williams not done yet; wins 1st match at US Open
So maybe that's why, much like with Kovinic 48 hours earlier, Williams’ opponent was introduced just by her name, and Kontaveit walked out to a smattering of applause. Williams, in contrast, got the full treatment: highlight video, a listing of her many accolades and a loud greeting from folks part of the largest U.S. Open attendance ever at a night session, 29,959, eclipsing the record set Monday.
“It was her moment,” Kontaveit said. “Of course, this is totally about her."
As strident a competitor as tennis, or any sport, has seen, as rightly self-confident in her abilities as any athlete, Williams was not about to think of this whole exercise as merely a celebration of her career.
She came to New York wanting to win, of course.
Wearing the same glittery crystal-encrusted top and diamond-accented sneakers — replete with solid gold shoelace tags and the word “Queen” on the right one, “Mama” on the left — that she sported Monday, Williams was ready for prime time.
The match began with Kontaveit grabbing the first five points, Williams the next five. And on they went, back and forth. Kontaveit’s mistakes were cheered — even faults, drawing an admonishment for the crowd from chair umpire Alison Hughes about making noise between serves.
Early in the third set, Kontaveit hit a cross-court forehand that caught the outermost edge of a sideline. A video on the stadium screens showed just how close it was, confirming that the ball did, indeed, land in. That brought out boos from the stands. Williams raised her arm and wagged a finger, telling her backers not to cause a fuss.
If anything, Kontaveit received more acknowledgment from the player trying to defeat her than anyone else, as Williams would respond to great shots with a nod or a racket clap.
“They were not rooting against me. They just wanted Serena to win so bad,” Kontaveit said, calling the treatment she received “fair," even if it was “something I never experienced before.”
Williams broke for a 5-4 edge when Kontaveit pushed a backhand long, spurring yelling spectators to rise to their feet — and Williams’ husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, jumped right in, too, waving his arms in her direction, a few rows in front of where Venus and Tiger Woods were two seats apart.
But with a chance to serve out that set, Williams briefly lost her way. A double-fault made it 5-all.
Eventually they went to a tiebreaker, and at 3-3, a chant of “Let’s go, Serena!” broke out, accompanied by rhythmic clapping. Soon, Williams delivered a 101 mph service winner and a 91 mph ace to seal that set.
To Kontaveit’s credit, she did not fold, did not let the disappointment linger. Instead, she raced to a 3-0 edge in the second with 10 winners and zero unforced errors.
In the third, it was Williams who gained the upper hand, and it seemed every point she won elicited an enthusiastic response. After a swinging forehand volley winner put Williams a game from victory, she raised both arms, then clenched her left fist.
One game, and five minutes later, it was over — and her stay at the U.S. Open could proceed.
Asked whether she's a title contender, Williams answered: “I can not think that far. I'm having fun and I'm enjoying it.”
Abu Dhabi Chess:IM Fahad Rahman shares point with Indian GM P Iniyan; FM Tahsin Zia tastes first win
Bangladeshi International Master Mohammad Fahad Rahman shared points with Indian GM P Iniyan as their 7th round match of the 28th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival-Masters ended in draw at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Tuesday night.
In the 7th round match, IM Fahad played with white pieces in Queen’s Gambit Declined system and settled for draw after 37 moves.
Bangladesh's GM Ziaur Rahman lost to Indian GM Aryan Chopra. Zia played with black pieces, chose French Defense and lost the match in 43rd move.
Read: Family Chess Tourney, Abu Dhabi: Bangladeshi Zia and son dominate the field as unbeaten champions
FM Tahsin Tajwar Zia, son of GM Ziaur Rahman, tasted the first victory in the meet beating Vaibhab Jayant Raut of India while FM Mehdi Hasan Parag won against Hamad Bader of the UAE.
After the 7th round matches, GM Zia and IM Fahad earned 4 points each, FM Tahsin secured 3.5 points while FM Parag bagged 3 points, playing seven games each.
The 8th and penultimate round games began today (Wednesday) from 7 pm Bangladesh time.
In the 8th round matches, GM Zia is playing against GM Amin Bassem of Egypt, IM Fahad playing against CM Prraneeth Vuppala of India, FM Tahsin playing against CM Kushagra Mohan of India while FM Parag playing against Ojas Kulkarni of India.
Football League : Mugda SKKS beat PWD SC by1-0 goal
Mugda Samaj Kallyan & Krira Sangsad beat Public Works Department (PWD) Sporting Club by 1-0 goal in the Bashundhara Group Metropolis Senior (First) Division Football League at Kamalapur Stadium here on Tuesday.
Abu Taleb Parvez scored the match-winner for Mugda team in the stoppage time (90+2 minute ) of the match.
Read:FIFA suspends India's football body over 'third party influence'
In the day's another match, Jabrabari Krira Chakra defeated Bangladesh Boys Club also by 1-0 goal at the same venue scored by Jahidul Hasan Dalim in the 25th minute from a penalty.
The day's other match between Friends Social Welfare Organization and East End Club ended in 1-1 draw at the same venue.
Badhon Kanti Shil put Friends Club ahead in the 17th minute while Luxman Chandra Barman leveled the margin for East End Club in the 35th minute.
Benzema, Courtois, De Bruyne on shortlist for UEFA award
Two Real Madrid teammates made the three-man shortlist announced Friday for the UEFA player of the year award for last season, while no Liverpool player was included.
Champions League winner Madrid was represented by Karim Benzema, who scored a competition-best 15 goals, and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who was the standout in its 1-0 win over Liverpool in the final.
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who plays with Courtois for Belgium, completed the list after a vote by coaches and selected journalists.
Read: Madrid wins again despite Benzema's missed penalty kicks
In the award for coaches, Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti is on the shortlist with Jürgen Klopp of Liverpool and Man City’s Pep Guardiola.
The winners will be announced Aug. 25 in Istanbul at the draw for the group stage of this season's Champions League.
None of the player nominees has previously won the UEFA award, which was first given in 2011 to Lionel Messi. Last year’s winner was Jorginho after he helped Italy and Chelsea to European titles.
UEFA said voting in the women’s awards is ongoing and shortlists should be announced next week.
BPL Football :Champions Bashundhara Kings end campaign on winning note
Bashundhara Kings, which earned the hattrick title of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football, today (Saturday) completed their engagement in the 12-team ongoing league with winning note beating three times champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by 2-1 goals in their last match at home venue-- Bashundhara Sports Complex in the city The coveted trophy of the prestigious league was handed over to the champions Bashundhara Kings after the day's match amid huge enthusiasm from their home crowd. BFF Senior Vice President and Chairman of the Professional League Committee Abdus Salam Murshedy MP was the chief guest at the function. In the day's match, midfielder Motin Miah put the Kings ahead in the very 8th minute of the match (1-0) while Brazilian player cum Kings captain Robson Robinho assured the team victory scoring the 2nd goal in the 53rd minute (2-0)Shohanur Rahman netted the lone goal for Sheikh Jamal in the 69th minute (2-1) Bishwanath Ghosh of the Kings and Sheikh Jamal's Uzbek striker Otabek got marching order after receiving the red cards just 10 minutes before the final whistle. The first phase match between two teams ended in 3-3 draw. Bashundhara Kings, which earned a rare feat of clinching the hattrick title of BPL Football earlier with two matches to spare, celebrated their league crown by winning the last two vital league matches, beating six time champions Dhaka Abahani and three times champions Sheikh Jamal DC The Bashundhara Kings made a frustrating start in the league losing the league opener to newcomers Swadhinata KS, but remained unbeaten in the remaining 21 matches to win league trophy comfortably securing 57 points from 22 encounters, with 18 wins, three draw and one defeat.Last times runners-up Sheikh Jamal DC finished 4th in the league securing 35 points with nine wins, eight draw and five defeats after league runners up Dhaka Abahani and the 3rd ranked Saif SC .
Read: BPL Football: Bashundhara Kings maintain winning streak
This was the first hattrick title for Bashundhara Kings and the 2nd hattrick title in the BPL history after Dhaka Abahani, which won the BPL crown for a record six times, including first three times in row in the year 2007, 2008-2009, 2009-2010. Bashundhara Kings, which were deprived of this season's two major soccer trophies, the Independence Cup and Federation Cup Football, clinched the league title convincingly beating Dhaka Abahani after three matches.
LAN tournament: Grand finale of D1 Cup Bangladesh 2022 held
The grand finale of the esports championship "D1 Cup Bangladesh 2022," "the largest LAN tournament in the country's history," was recently held at International Convention City Bashundhara, Dhaka.
The tournament, hosted by Discovery One, started on June 14 with a prize pool of over Tk40 lakh – "the highest to date."
One hundred and twenty-eight teams took part in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Valorant; 36 teams participated in the Dota 2 game.
Covenant won the Dota 2 tournament, Septem Exierant Valorant and Venom CR Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
Prottoy Hossain, chairman of Discovery One, Shadab Hossain, managing director of Discovery One, Razib Khan, CFO of Dekko ISHO Venture Capital, Md Masudur Rahman, COO of Dekko ISHO Venture Capital, Mohammad Jahidul Abedin, CFO of Paramount Venture Capital, and Md Aliur Rahman Sohan, CEO of Level 7 Solutions and Zenetic E-sports, were present at the final event Sunday.
Read: BSJA Sports: Mazharul emerges champion in swimming, Mahbub in chess
Sports Journalists’ Association’s AGM held
The 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Bangladesh Sports Journalists’ Association (BSJA) was held on Saturday at its office premises at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here.BSJA general secretary Anisur Rahman Paltu and treasurer Mazhar Uddin Omi presented their reports at the AGM, presided over by BSJA President ATM Saiduzzaman. The AGM gave emphasis on forming a welfare fund to help the BSJA members during crisis situation. Former BJSA Presidents Majurul Haque and Syed Mamun, former Vice Presidents Dilu Khodakar, Kamal Ahmed, Arifur Rahman Babu, among others, took part in the discussion on different issues.
Read: Babu emerges best player in Walton-BSJA Sports CarnivalCountry's leading sports journalists and sports editors of national dailies, news agencies, electronic and online media were present at the meeting.
BSJA Sports: Mahbub Alam emerges champion in call bridge
Mahbub Alam Khan emerged as the champion in the call bridge competition of the Walton-Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association (BSJA) Sports Carnival in Dhaka Saturday.
At the BSJA office at the Bangabandhu National Stadium premises, Tariqul Islam Sajal of Dhaka Post finished runner-up while Nur Uddin of SA Television earned third place.
BSJA General Secretary Anisur Rahman, tournament committee convener Raiham Al Mugni and tournament secretary Robiul Islam were present.
The swimming competition of the carnival will be held Sunday at 12pm at the Ivy Rahman Swimming Pool. The chess competition will also be held on the same day at 1:30pm at the BSJA office.
Read: Sayeeduzzaman, Anisur elected as BSJA president, secretary
Mayers hits ton to push back Bangladesh
Scalping four wickets in the first session of day two, Bangladesh fought back vigorously in the second Test of the two-match series against the West Indies in St Lucia.
But a ton from Kyle Mayers pushed Bangladesh back again.
At the end of day two, West Indies are leading by 106 runs with five wickets in hand. The hosts have scored 340 for five so far. Mayers remained unbeaten for 126 while the other unbeaten batter Joshua Da Silva was batting at 26.
Read: WI off to solid start against Bangladesh
In the first wicket stand, West Indies scored 100 runs. While scoring subsequent 32 runs, they lost four wickets with Khaled Ahmed taking two of them.
But in the fifth wicket stand, Mayers and Jermaine Blackwood added 166 runs which helped the hosts to come out of the fear of suffering a batting collapse. After Jermaine was out at 40, Mayers and Joshua added 92 runs at the sixth wicket stand.
These two partnerships helped the hosts to secure a lead of 106 runs with five wickets in hand, and eventually, that pushed Bangladesh into an uncomfortable situation.
Earlier, West Indies won the toss and sent Bangladesh to bat first. The visitors had a good opening stand and all of their first five batters have managed good starts but they failed to continue.
Jayden Seales and Alzarri Joseph bagged three wickets each for the hosts while Anderson Phillip and Kyle Mayers scalped two wickets each.