Sports
C'Wealth Chess: Bangladeshi GM Razib, IM Fahad earn full points
Bangladeshi Grand Master Enamul Hossain Razib and International Master Mohammad Fahad Rahman earned full two points after the 2nd round matches of the Commonwealth Chess Championship'2022, held at Waskaduwa in Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
In the 2nd round matches, GM Razib beat Saravanabaavan Brijesh of Sri Lanka while IM Fahad defeated Marapana Sanupa Bimsath of Sri Lanka.
Read more: Sheikh Kamal Chess: 3 players share top spot
A total of 94 players from seven countries including 12 Grandmasters, one Woman Grandmaster, seven International Masters and three Women International Masters are taking part in the event.
7th Bangabandhu President Cup Fencing Championship kicks off
The inaugural program of the Bangabandhu 7th President Cup Fencing Championship was held on Tuesday at Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium, Mirpur 10, Dhaka.
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque inaugurated the tournament as the chief guest.
It was presided over by Bangladesh Fencing Federation (BFF) President Shoeb Chowdhury. The program was anchored by Bangladesh Fencing Federation Joint General Secretary Rezaur Rahman Sinha.
Shoeb Chowdhury paid tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“Bangladeshi fencers have retained their spirit and rhythm despite the turbulent time the world is going through at this moment because of the Russia-Ukraine War,” he said.
Read more: FM inaugurates Bangabandhu Gold Cup football tournament in Sylhet
Shoeb Chowdhury applauded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for supporting the expansion of sports across Bangladesh. He also thanked State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russell for upgrading Bangladesh Fencing Association to Bangladesh Fencing Federation.
Bangabandhu Chair and Bangladesh Bank’s former Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman gave the keynote speech at the event. He assured his listeners that Bangladesh’s economy stands on a firm foothold and urged everyone not to trust rumours.
Special Guest Lt. General (Retd) Sheikh Mamun Khaled said that leadership is a vital thing. Bangabandhu’s unflinching leadership freed Bangladesh from Pakistan, he stated.
Read more: Bangabandhu Gold Cup: Bangladesh off to good start, beat Laos 1-0
BFF General Secretary Selim Omrao Khan gave the welcome speech. BFF Vice President Mohiuddin Ahmed and Vice President Abdul Mabud PPM also spoke on the occasion.
Chattogram, Sylhet lead in 6th round of NCL matches
Chattogram and Sylhet Divisions are leading against Dhaka and Rangpur Divisions in the sixth round of tier one of the National Cricket League.
After day two of the ongoing round, Chattogram are leading by 192 runs with seven wickets in hand in their second innings. Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Parvez Hossain Emon hit a fifty for them. At the end of the day in BKSP, Chattogram scored 187 for three on top of their first innings total of 203 for all wickets.
In reply to their first innings, Dhaka scored 198 for all wickets with Abdul Mazid and Sumon Khan hitting a fifty each. For Chattogram, Yeasin Arafat Meshu bagged six wickets.
Sylhet are leading by 87 runs against Rangpur at Shahid Chandu Stadium in Bogura. They were bowled out for 168 at the end of day two. They scored 107 in the first innings. Rangpur, who scored 188 in their first innings, will start their second innings on day three.
Read more: Dhaka Division win National Cricket League 2021
In tier two, Rajshahi are trailing by 10 runs after suffering a follow-on in reply to Khulna’s first innings of 266 runs at Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna. Rajshahi were bowled out for 54 in their first innings and in the second, at the end of day two, they scored 202 for five wickets.
In Sylhet, Barishal are leading by 92 runs against Dhaka Metro. Barishal scored 211 in the first innings. In reply, Dhaka posted 222 runs. And in their second innings, Barishal scored 103 for two at the end of day two.
Rangpur are leading the points table of tier two with three wins in five matches. And Sylhet are right behind them with two wins in five matches. With three wins in five matches, Dhaka Metro are leading the points table in tier two. Rajshahi are behind them with two wins in five matches.
Rights groups fear for workers as Qatar World Cup spotlight dims
With just days to go before Qatar hosts the World Cup, rights groups fear that a window for addressing the widespread exploitation of foreign workers could soon close.
The long run-up to this month’s World Cup has brought unprecedented scrutiny to the treatment of the millions of foreign workers in the Gulf Arab nation who built stadiums and other infrastructure, and who will staff hotels and sweep the streets during the world’s biggest sporting event.
In the face of heavy international criticism, Qatar has enacted a raft of reforms in recent years, including the partial dismantling of a system that tied workers to their employers and enacting a minimum wage — changes praised by the U.N. as well as rights groups.
But activists say abuses ranging from unpaid wages to harsh working conditions in one of the hottest countries on Earth, are still widespread, and that workers — who are barred from forming unions or striking — have few realistic avenues to pursue justice.
They also worry about what happens after the monthlong tournament ends in December, when the international spotlight moves on and employers slash their payrolls.
Qatar says it leads the region in labor reforms and that progress will continue after the World Cup. Officials from the ruling emir on down have lashed out at critics, accusing them of ignoring the reforms and unfairly singling out the first Arab or Muslim nation to host the Cup.
Qatar, like other Gulf countries, relies on millions of foreign workers, who make up a majority of the population and nearly 95% of the labor force — everyone from highly paid corporate executives to construction workers.
Qatar has dismantled much of what is known as the “kafala” system, which tied workers to their employers and made it virtually impossible for them to quit or change jobs without permission. But rights groups say much of that system survives in different, more informal ways.
Read: Qatar's World Cup stadiums won't turn into white elephants
Workers often must pay exorbitant recruitment fees, taking on debt even before they arrive. And employers can still cancel visas or report those who quit for “absconding,” a criminal violation.
“If a migrant worker walks away from a job that hasn’t paid them in several months, there’s just a real risk that they’re not going to get that money back,” said Michael Page, of the New York-based Human Rights Watch.
Equidem, a London-based labor rights group, recently released a lengthy report documenting abuses in more than a dozen World Cup hotels, where it says workers from Africa and Asia face sexual harassment, discrimination, wage theft and health and safety risks.
Ella Knight, a researcher at London-based Amnesty International, says many migrants working as security guards or domestic helpers go months or even years without a day off, despite laws mandating at least one per week.
“Impunity remains a massive problem, so employers are just not being held to account or not being penalized in a way that prevents abuses from being repeated,” she said.
Qatari law bars workers from forming unions or staging protests, and authorities heavily restrict media access to laborers. Police detained at least 60 workers who struck over unpaid wages in August. Last year, two Norwegian reporters were detained while reporting on migrant workers.
Malcolm Bidali, a Kenyan security guard who had anonymously blogged about the plight of workers, was detained for three months — including 28 days in solitary confinement — and fined $6,800 before leaving the country last year.
In an article about his ordeal, he said Qatar’s reforms “look splendid” on paper, but that the reality on the ground is different, with authorities seemingly more keen to silence dissent than penalize abusive employers.
“I can’t help but wonder what’s in store for migrant workers after the World Cup,” he wrote. “If workers still live in horrible conditions, if workers still go months without pay, if workers still can’t freely change jobs, if domestic workers still can’t get justice, what happens when no one’s looking?”
Read: Fans without tickets can enter Qatar after World Cup group stage
Qatar has defended its reforms and says it will continue to safeguard workers’ welfare after the World Cup.
“Qatar has always acknowledged that work remains to be done, notably to hold unscrupulous employers to account — as is the case with any country around the world,” Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s media attache in the United States, said in a statement. “We are already seeing the number of offences declining year-on-year as compliance increases among employers.”
Labor rights activists say Qatar still owes compensation to those who worked on World Cup infrastructure projects going back to the awarding of the tournament in 2010 — years before the reforms were enacted. Amnesty says authorities failed to investigate the deaths of workers during that period.
Amnesty and other rights groups now urge soccer’s governing body FIFA to establish a $440 million fund — equivalent to the tournament’s total prize money — to compensate workers, an appeal that several federations support. The global soccer body has said it is open to the idea.
Qatar established its own fund in 2018 to compensate workers who are injured on the job or who are not paid, which Al-Ansari said had paid out some $270 million this calendar year alone. He did not comment directly on the calls for a larger remedy fund.
Page, of Human Rights Watch, says the sizable payouts by Qatari authorities, which only cover claims in recent years, show the importance of establishing a larger fund to address the “very serious abuses” that took place in the several years before the reforms were enacted.
“If this is their stance now, in the heat of the spotlight, what is their position going to be — the Qatari authorities — after the World Cup, in terms of reforms and migrant worker protections, when the spotlight is off them? I think that’s really concerning,” he said.
“I can do this!”: Mosaddek to Shakib before last ball against Zimbabwe
Despite a last-minute scare, Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by three runs today at the ongoing T20 World Cup in Brisbane. A no-ball came to the fore at the last moment, which could have cost the Tigers the match.
But Mosaddek Hossain, who bowled the last over, held his nerve well, and delivered a dot that earned Bangladesh a win — second at the T20 World Cup 2022.
After the match, Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, said that Mosaddek told him he is “strong enough” to manage a dot in the last ball.
The no-ball was not Mosaddek’s fault at all. It was Nurul Hasan, the wicketkeeper, who grabbed the last ball of the 20th over from in front of the stump – a clear violation of the cricketing rule.
A wicketkeeper is bound to grab the ball from behind the stump. If a keeper violates this rule, the delivery is a no-ball, and this is exactly what happened in today’s match in Brisbane.
Zimbabwe needed 16 runs off the last over to seal the game. Mosaddek conceded one run off the first ball and scalped the wicket of Brad Evans on the second ball. The third and fourth deliveries were hit for four and six respectively by Richard Ngarava. Zimbabwe got close to sealing the match.
But off the fifth ball, Nurul did a wonderful job when Ngarava stepped up aiming a big shot and missed the ball. Nurul grabbed the ball and shattered his stumps in the blink of an eye.
Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe despite drama in last over
At this point, Shakib warned Nurul about grabbing the ball from in front of the stumps. The TV replays showed that he grabbed the ball nearly from in front of the stumps. Shakib said he warned Nurul so that he doesn't repeat it on the next delivery.
Nurul, however, forgot the pointer in the last ball (which was actually the sixth delivery) and grabbed the ball from in front of the stumps when Blessing Muzarabani missed it. Bangladesh broke into celebration before the umpires declared the sixth delivery a no-ball!
At that point, Zimbabwe’s target came down to four runs off a single delivery. Bangladesh were on the verge of an unexpected defeat. A bad delivery from Mosaddek or a good shot from Muzarabani could have written the story of the match in a different way.
Mosaddek held his nerve well, very well. He delivered a fullish delivery. Nurul, this time, picked it from behind the stumps and that’s it!
Bangladesh won the match by three runs in the midst of chaos and drama.
It was the first time when Bangladesh took on their familiar foe Zimbabwe in a World Cup encounter and they managed to win.
Ahead of all-important matches against subcontinental opponents Pakistan and India, this will surely boost the confidence of Shakib and his troops.
Asian Chess: Bangladesh's Razib, Jannatul lose 2nd-round matches
Bangladeshi players GM Enamul Haque Razib and WCM Jannatul Ferdous lost their second-round matches of the Asian Continental Chess Championships 2022 in the Indian capital New Delhi Thursday.
GM Enamul Hussain Razib lost to Grandmaster Rinat Jumabayev of Kazakhstan in the open category. WCM Jannatul Ferdous conceded defeat to WGM Yakubbayeva Nilufar of Uzbekistan in the women's category.
After the matches, WCM Jannatul Ferdous secured one point and GM Razib half a point.
Read: Asian Youth Chess: Bangladesh's Manon Reja shares top spot with four others
The top four players from the open category will get the chance to participate in the 2023 FIDE World Cup Chess.
The top two players from the women's category will make it to the 2023 FIDE Women's World Cup Chess.
Sheikh Russell Cup Invitational Team Chess begins
The six-nation Sheikh Russell Cup Invitational Team Chess Championship 2022, began Thursday at the Bangladesh Chess Federation in Dhaka, marking Sheikh Russell Day.
All the six zone 3.2 countries of the World Chess Federation – Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and hosts Bangladesh are taking part in the invitational team chess event.
Youth and Sports Secretary Mesbah Uddin officially inaugurated the six-nation meet as the chief guest.
Tarafder Md Ruhul Saif, director of the competition's sponsor Saif Powertec, Syed Shahab Uddin Shamim, general secretary of the Bangladesh Chess Federation, and KM Shahidullah, vice-president of the federation, were also present.
Read: Sheikh Russel Cup Invitational Team Chess starts tomorrow in capital
All teams will participate in the round-robin league system. At the end of the first phase, the super league will be held with the top three teams. It will also be held in a round-robin league format.
A total of $10,000 will be awarded to the winners. The champion team will receive $ 4,000, the runners-up $3,000, the third-place finishers $2,000 and the fourth-place team $1,000.
In the day's first-round matches after the inauguration ceremony, Bangladesh played against Sri Lanka, Pakistan faced the Maldives, and Nepal played against Bhutan.
The second round matches will start at 3pm Friday at the same venue.
In the second round, Pakistan will play Bangladesh, Bhutan will face Sri Lanka and the Maldives will play Nepal.
First phase of National Youth Hockey begins Thursday
The first phase of the Al Arafah Islami Bank National Youth Hockey Tournament' 2022 begins on Thursday at the Maulana Bhasani National Stadium here.
President of Bangladesh Hockey Federation and Chief of Bangladesh Air Force Air Chief Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan will inaugurate the meet as the chief guest.
Chairman of the meet's sponsor Al Arafah Islami Bank Alhaj Salim Rahman will also attend the function as special guest.
Two matches of Dhaka zone will be held on the opening day (Thursday).
Hosts Dhaka DSA will play Shariatpur DSA at 1:45 pm while defending champions BKSP will play Narayanganj DSA at 3:30 pm in two opening day's fixture.
A record 57 teams will initially compete in the first phase in nine zonal venues across the country.
The nine zonal venues are: Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Narail, Dinajpur, Joypurhat, Faridpur, Cumilla and Chattogram.
Bangladesh Hockey Federation arranging the national youth hockey meet this time after a long gap of five years.
EU employed over 1.3 million people in sports sector in 2021
The European Union (EU) created more than 1.37 million jobs in sports, 0.7 percent of its total employment, in 2021.
The number of people working in sports in the EU recovered after falling during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns (1.37 million in 2019; 1.31 million in 2020), according to the EU's statistical office Eurostat.
Employment in sports includes sports-related occupations (professional athletes, professional coaches in fitness centres), non-sports occupations (receptionists in fitness centres), and sports-related jobs outside the sports sector (school sports instructors).
In recent years, several European plans and programmes gave sports a significant profile.
The EU countries with the highest share of people working in sports were Sweden (1.4 percent of total employment), Finland (1.3 percent), Spain and France (1.1 percent).
No substitute for sports in developing flair: Info Minister
In developing the flair of the youth, there is no alternative to sports, according to Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud.
Sport not only keeps the body healthy but also opens up the mind and keeps it cheerful.
The minister came up with these remarks at a prize-giving ceremony of the Bangabandhu Inter-University Sports Championship Kabaddi competition in the capital on Sunday afternoon.
The competition was organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports at the American International University Bangladesh-AIUB premises.
State Minister for Youth and Sports Md Zahid Ahsan Russell presided over the ceremony while founding member of the Board of Trustees of AIUB Hasanul A Hasan and Dean of Engineering Department Dr. Siddique Hossain, among others, were present.
Following the instruction of the Prime Minister, the ministry of sports has brought all the institutes from primary schools to universities under the national sports competitions. Around 7,000 competitors from 125 universities are participating in various sports of the Bangabandhu Inter-University Championship this year, said Russell,
Gono University became the champion defeating Daffodil University in the boys’ category while Daffodil University became the champion crushing Gono University in the girls’ category.