Three more new national records were made on the 3rd day of the four-day Max Group 32nd National Swimming, Diving and Water Polo Competitions 2023 at the Syed Nazrul Islam National Swimming Complex in Mirpur on Wednesday. A total of five new records were bettered in the first three days, featuring Wednesday's fresh three records in nine swimming and two diving events. Also read: 32nd National Swimming: Bangladesh Navy maintain supremacy after day 2 Jewel Ahmed of Bangladesh Army made the day's first record in the men's 1500-meter freestyle with a timing of 17:05.95 minute to improve the event's old record of 27:24.34,  made by Faisal Ahmed in 2021. Sonia Khatun of Bangladesh Navy set the day's 2nd record in the women's 100- meter butterfly clocking 01: 07.33 to better her previous mark of 1:07.77, made in 2022. Bangladesh Navy team created the day's 3rd and last record in the men's 200-meter freestyle relay with a timing of 08: 06.01 to improve the event's old record of 08:07.18, also made by the Navy team in 2022. Earlier, Samiul Islam Rafi of Bangladesh Navy made the first two records in the first two days in the men's 50-metre and men's 200-metre back strokes. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Navy maintained their absolute supremacy in the meet after the first three days securing 32 gold, 18 silver and one bronze medals. Also read: 32nd National Swimming: Bangladesh Navy swimmers dominate pool on first day Bangladesh Army are in the distant 2nd with four gold, 13 silver and 15 bronzes while BKSP are in the 3rd slot with seven bronzes. Bangladesh Swimming Federation (BSF) President and Chief of Bangladesh Navy Admiral M Nazmul Hasan  will be the chief guest at the closing and prize distribution ceremony of the meet on Thursday (October 19) afternoon. BSF senior vice president and chairman of the meet's sponsor Max Group Engineer Golam Mohammad Alamgir will be the special guest on the occasion. Also read: Sheikh Russell Swimming: Faisal emerges men’s champion; Tumpa women’s

Halfway through a second set that lasted 1 hour, 44 minutes, a test of tenacity as much as talent amid a U.S. Open final as exhausting as it was exhilarating, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev engaged each other in a 32-stroke point. It was among many such elongated exchanges between two men whose styles are nearly mirror images, and Djokovic capitulated by netting a backhand. He fell to his back and stayed down, chest heaving. The crowd roared. Djokovic sat up but remained on the ground for a bit. The crowd roared some more, appreciating the effort, saluting the entertainment. Using every ounce of his energy and some serve-and-volley guile — an old man with new tricks — Djokovic emerged for a 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Medvedev at Flushing Meadows to claim a historic 24th Grand Slam title on Sunday night in a match more closely contested than the straight-set score indicated. “I never imagined that I would be here standing with you talking about 24 Slams. I never thought that would be the reality,” said Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia and the tournament's oldest male champion in the Open era, which dates to 1968. “But the last couple of years, I felt I have a chance, I have a shot for history, and why not grab it if it’s presented?” He moved one major singles title ahead of Serena Williams and is the first player to win 24 in the Open era. Margaret Court also collected a total of 24, but 13 of those came before professionals were admitted to the Slam events. There were snapshots, particularly in the miniseries of a second set, when it appeared Djokovic was faltering. After some of the most grueling points — and there were many — he would lean over with hands on knees or use his racket for support or pause to stretch his legs. And then, suddenly, he would snap to. “That’s Novak,” Medvedev said. “No matter what, he can be there.” There was an inescapable sense, on the part of the participants and any observer, that whichever man succumbed in the second set would be unable to overcome it. “I don’t think I have ever played a longer set in my life,” Djokovic said. Medvedev's take on that segment of the match? “Oh, regrets, for sure,” he said. “Should have won it.” Medvedev came within a single point of taking that set while returning at 6-5. Djokovic rushed the net behind his serve, and while Medvedev had an opening for a backhand passing shot by hitting it down the line, he instead went cross-court, and Djokovic had it covered. In the tiebreaker, Medvedev led 5-4 before Djokovic grabbed the next three points. One key adjustment: When Djokovic was looking more bedraggled, he turned to serve-and-volleying, not his usual sort of tactic. He won 20 of 22 points he played that way, and 37 of 44 overall on the points when he went to the net, some with spectacular volleys or half-volleys at angles a pool shark would appreciate. Medvedev never countered. “I should have been less stubborn,” Medvedev said. This was the 27-year-old Russian's fifth major final and he is 1-4, with two losses apiece to Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The victory came against Djokovic in the 2021 final at Flushing Meadows, stopping a bid for the first men’s calendar-year Grand Slam in more than a half-century. That weighed on Djokovic. “I really did my best in the last 48 hours not to allow the importance of the moment and what’s on the line get to my head,” Djokovic said Sunday, “because two years ago that’s what happened, and I underperformed.” Djokovic’s fourth championship in New York, where he was unable to compete a year ago because he isn’t vaccinated against COVID-19, goes alongside 10 trophies from the Australian Open, seven from Wimbledon and three from the French Open, extending his lead among men. Nadal is next with 22; Roger Federer retired with 20. When it was over, Medvedev tapped Djokovic on the chest as they talked at the net. Djokovic flung his racket, put his arms up and then knelt on the court, head bowed. Then he found his daughter for a hug. His son and wife came next, along with his parents and his team. “This is one of the biggest achievements in (sports) history,” said his coach, Goran Ivanisevic. “We’re not talking about tennis. We are talking generally in sports.” Soon, Djokovic was donning a shirt with “24” and “Mamba Forever” written on it as a tribute to the late NBA star Kobe Bryant, a close friend who wore that jersey number. And on top of that went a white jacket with the same significant number on the chest. As good as ever, Djokovic went 27-1 in the sport’s most prestigious events this season: The blemish was a loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. Djokovic will return to No. 1 in the rankings Monday, overtaking Alcaraz, who was the defending champion at Flushing Meadows but was eliminated by No. 3 Medvedev in the semifinals. At the start Sunday, with the Arthur Ashe Stadium retractable roof shut because of rain in the forecast, Medvedev seemed jittery, the looping swings of his white racket breaking down repeatedly. Djokovic, in contrast, was as reliable as a metronome, anticipating nearly everything headed his way and scurrying to retrieve and respond. Djokovic relies on analytics and a foe’s tendencies. He leans on instinct and a masterful ability to read opposing serves and groundstrokes. On Sunday, his blue shoes carried him right where he needed to be, more often than not, and his contorting, stretching, sliding allowed him to keep the ball in play, when required, and create flip-the-switch offense, too, if desired. Medvedev plays similarly. Points lasted 25 shots, 35 shots, more. Was Djokovic perfect? No. But he was good enough throughout, as he so often is. He has won exactly a third of the 72 Grand Slam tournaments he has entered since his 2005 debut, a remarkable rate. That includes gathering trophies at seven of the past 10 majors he entered. Medvedev joked it's about time Djokovic moved on and let someone else take home some hardware. Don't count on it, Daniil. “I’m going to keep going. I feel good in my own body. I still feel I've got the support of my environment, of my team, of my family,” Djokovic said. “Knowing that I play at such a high level still, and I win the biggest tournaments ... I don’t want to leave this sport if I’m still at the top.”  

A 240-member big contingent will represent Bangladesh in the 19th Asian Games' 2023 to be held in the Chinese city of Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8 next.  Some 12,000 athletes from 45 Asian countries are expected to compete in 481 events of 61 disciplines of sports in the biggest sports carnival of Asia, the 2nd biggest sports extravaganza in the world after the Olympic Games. The counntry's and the sub-continent's  first Grand Master Niaz Morshed and the captain of SAFF champions Bangladesh Women's Football team Sabina Khatun will carry the Bangladesh national flag in the opening ceremony on the Asian Games on Sept 23. The 240-member Bangladesh contingent comprises 104 male athletes, 76 female athletes and 60 men's and women's team officials and coaches. Read: Debate Triumph: Anwar Girls College, Rangpur Cantonment excel A 44-member men's and women's football teams, each of 22 members, will be the largest side of Bangladesh contingent,  followed by 30 member men's and women's cricket team, each of 15 members, will be the 2nd biggest side of  Bangladesh squad for the Asiad. Bangladesh will compete in 17 disciplines of sports in the mega Asian Games. Bangladesh's  participating sports are :  athletics, archery, boxing, cricket, chess, football,  kabaddi, hockey, shooting, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics, karate, fencing, bridge, golf and taekwondo The first batch of Bangaldesh contingent will fly for China on September 16 with men's football team, which play Myanmar on September 19, four day's ahead of  opening ceremony of the Asiad. Read: Men's Asian 5s Hockey: Bangladesh taste first victory beating Japan by 10-3 goals Bangladesh, which faced a medal drought in the last Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia in 2018, this time are very confifent to do a better result. Addressing a pre-tour press conference at the association's auditorium on Sunday, BOA Secretary General Syed Shahed Reza said," We are expecting a good result from cricket, shooting and archery in the ensuing continental games" "Moreover,  we have high hope on two Bangladesh-origin expatriate athletes - Zinnat Ferdous from the United States and Imranur Rahman from the United Kingdom" he added. Read: World’s Largest Women’s Marathon: Window open till Oct 31 to compete in virtual race AK Sarkar, the treasurer of BOA and general secretary of the basketball federation, will lead the Bangladesh contingent as the Chef de Mission while  Brigadier General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddique, an executive member of BOA and chairman of the sports regulatory board of Bangladesh Army, will act as the deputy Chef de Mission.

Athlete Imranur Rahman, an England-based Bangladesh-origin sprinter, made his career-best time of 10.11 seconds in the 100-metre sprint in an competition held in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London recently. The Bangladesh Athletics Federation recognised the personal best timing of the England-based Bangladesh-origin sprinter as Bangladesh's national record as the meet was approved and accredited by the World Athletics. Read : World Athletics: Imranur Rahman of Bangladesh finishes first in heat of 100-m sprint Imranur's performance is officially ranked and will be attached to his and Bangladesh's official databases. Earlier, Imranur clinched the historic gold medal, the first-ever by any Bangladeshi athlete at the Asian level, in the men's 60-metre sprint of the 10th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships held at the Kazakhstan capital Astana last February. This was the first ever medal for any Bangladeshi athlete in an Asian-level athletics championship. Read : Bangladesh Special Olympics team leaves for Germany to participate in Special Olympics World Games The 29-year-old sprinter clinched the country's dream gold by winning the men's 60-metre sprint title with a record time of 6.59 seconds. Imranur, who appeared in the country's athletics last year, emerged as the country's fastest man with a national record in his maiden competition with timing of 10.29 seconds. Read : Imranur conferred with country's first-ever gold at Asian-level athletics He further improved his record at the Asian Athletics Championship held in Bangkok in July this year with a time of 10.25 seconds in the 100-metre sprint. Bangladesh is expecting a good result from Imranur in this month's Asian Games to be held in China.

Novak Djokovic outlasted Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling rematch of their Wimbledon final, winning 5-7, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) on Sunday to take the Western & Southern Open. In a match that lasted 3 hours, 49 minutes, the longest best-of-three sets final in ATP Tour history (since 1990), the No. 2-seeded Djokovic avenged his loss last month to the top-ranked Alcaraz and earned his 95th career title, passing Ivan Lendl for third among men in the professional era, dating to 1968. In the women's final, seventh-seeded Coco Gauff became the first teenager in more than 50 years to win the Western & Southern Open with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Karolina Muchova. READ: Spain wins its first Women's World Cup title, beating England 1-0 in the final Djokovic was playing his first tournament on U.S. soil in two years because of COVID-19 restrictions. He secured his third Cincinnati championship in six years on his fifth match point when Alcaraz went wide with a forehand return. The 36-year-old Serbian fell on his back, arms and legs spread, before heading to the net to shake hands with his Spanish opponent. He then strutted around the court and ripped his shirt apart from the buttons on down. “This was one of the most exciting matches I’ve ever played in any tournament,” the winner of a men's-record 23 Grand Slam titles said during the post-match trophy presentation. “It felt like a Grand Slam.” With temperatures hovering near 90 degrees, Djokovic survived the tournament’s longest men’s match since at least 1990 to become the oldest man to win the championship. Ken Rosewall was 35 when he won in 1970. The rematch of Alcaraz's five-set victory at Wimbledon broke the previous Cincinnati record of 2 hours, 49 minutes, set in 2010 as Roger Federer was beating Mardy Fish. It’s the longest three-set match on the men’s tour this season by three minutes. READ: Messi leads Inter Miami to first ever trophy in Leagues Cup final “I have so much to say, but I’m not sure that I have the energy,” Djokovic said, cradling his trophy. He paused and looked at Alcaraz. “You never give up, do you?” he said. “I love that about you. I hope we meet in New York. That would be fun – well, for the fans, not for me.” The U.S. Open begins Aug. 28. Alcaraz, the defending champion, is guaranteed to remain No. 1 heading into the tournament. The tiebreakers were Alcaraz’s fourth and fifth in four matches during the week. He went three sets in every match, while Djokovic didn’t drop a set until Sunday. “The match was pretty close,” Alcaraz said. “I’ll be back.” Gauff, the 2022 French Open runner-up, earned her first Masters 1000 title when Muchova sailed a forehand return wide on Gauff’s fourth match point. The 19-year-old American tossed her racket in the air and jumped up and down in glee after surviving a 1-hour, 56-minute match played in temperatures approaching 90 degrees. “This is unbelievable,” Gauff said during the post-match trophy presentation. “I’m just happy to be here for this moment. READ: Liverpool overcome an early goal and a red card to beat Bournemouth 3-1 in EPL “I want to congratulate Karolina for an incredible run in this tournament,” she added. “Hopefully, we’ll play more often, and on a bigger stage than this.” Gauff was the tournament’s fourth teenage finalist and first since Vera Zvonareva in 2004. She is the first teenage champion since 17-year-old Linda Tuero in 1968. After a spotty first set that featured a combined five service breaks, including Gauff’s double fault on one game point, Gauff gained command over her Czech Republic opponent with a break in the eighth game. She fought off two break points in the fourth game of the second set and took control with a break in the next game when Muchova sent a backhand wide. While winning the next game, Gauff caught a break with a winner off the net that left her with her left palm on her racket and looking up at the sky as if she was praying in gratitude. She missed on three match points in the eighth game before closing it out. “When I woke up this morning, the first thing I said was ‘Ouch,’” the 26-year-old Muchova said. “I knew it was going to be a tough task to win, especially against someone like Coco.” The French Open runner-up will celebrate her birthday on Monday by moving to No. 10 on the WTA rankings.

Country's celebrated athlete Imranur Rahman, the fastest man of Bangladesh, finished first in the heats number-3 of the men's 100-meter sprint of the 23rd World Athletics Championship 2023 held in the Hungarian capital Budapest on Saturday.  He became first in his heat with a timing of 10.50 seconds and advanced to the 2nd round of the meet. Read: Bangladesh football team captain Jamal Bhuyan signs for Argentine Club He will compete in the 2rd round of the prestigious  world meet, will begin on Saturday (August 19) night at 11:43 pm Bangladesh time. Imranur qualified for the semifinal of the Asian Athletics Championship 2023 held in Bangkok recently clocking 10.25 seconds featuring new national record.    

A 112-member contingent of Bangladesh Special Olympics team left Dhaka for Germany to participate in the Special Olympics World Games Barlin’ 2023 beginning on June 17 at the Olympics Stadium in Berlin. Some 7,000 athletes from 170 countries will compete in 24 disciplines of sports in the nine-day meet. Prior to the mega games, Bangladesh team will participate in the three-day hosts town programme in Frankfurt from June 12-14 before flying to Berlin on June 15. Bangladesh contingent, comprising 79 athletes,  23 coaches and 11 other officials, will compete in eight disciplines of sports and expected to return home on June 28. In the last Special Olympics Games held in Abu Dhabi in 2019, Bangladesh have secured 22 gold, 10 silver and six bronze medals.  

The competitors stand rigidly upright with their hands behind their backs, waiting to absorb a brutal slap to the face. When the open-handed blow is delivered, there's a sharp report and the reaction can be dramatic. Some fighters barely move, while others stumble backward or fall to the floor. Some are knocked out. UFC President Dana White is selling slap fighting as the next big thing in combat sports, putting his money and the resources of one of the world's foremost mixed martial arts organizations behind the Power Slap League. The Nevada Athletic Commission has sanctioned the league for competitions in Las Vegas. "It's a home run," said White, who is among several UFC officials involved in the league. Some slap-fighting beatdowns have gone viral, including a video from eastern Europe showing a man who continues to compete even as half of his face swells to seemingly twice its size. Such exposure has led to questions about the safety of slap fighting, particularly the risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head. A former chairman of the commission, which regulates combat sports in Nevada, says approving the league was a mistake. Chris Nowinski, cofounder and CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, agrees, calling slap fighting "one of the stupidest things you can do." "There's nothing fun, there's nothing interesting and there's nothing sporting," Nowinski said. "They're trying to dress up a really stupid activity to try to make money." White and the competitors remain unfazed, comparing commentary on slapping to the negative reaction the UFC faced in its infancy more than 20 years ago. "I think it's definitely overblown with the topics of CTE and the damage that we're taking," said Ryan Phillips, a Power Slap League fighter. "I think a lot of people still just don't understand that it's still a slap." Concerns about concussions leading to CTE, which can cause violent mood swings, depression and memory loss, aren't confined to combat sports. The disease has shown up in the brains of former rugby players, and the NFL and college football have taken steps to cut down on blows to the head by changing rules regarding tackling and other hits. CTE can only be detected during an autopsy. Despite the naysayers, White said he believes slap fighting will follow a similar trajectory to mixed martial arts, which the late Sen. John McCain referred to as "human cockfighting" in 1996, when the UFC didn't have weight classes or many rules. McCain's criticism helped force the organization to become more structured, leading to its widespread acceptance. White said the ratings of the TBS reality show "Power Slap: Road to the Title" bear out the early popularity of what to many is still a curiosity. White said he realized there could be a market for the sport in the U.S. when he clocked the millions of YouTube views of slap fighting videos from eastern Europe in 2017 and 2018. The videos were often poorly produced, the slap matches unregulated. White became convinced that fights with written rules and shot with professional video equipment could convert many internet viewers into dedicated, paying fans. The Nevada commission gave slap fighting some much needed legitimacy when it unanimously sanctioned the sport in October and a month later awarded White a license to promote it. But White's enterprise was hampered when he was captured on video slapping his wife on New Year's Eve. White apologized, but has acknowledged it damaged efforts to get the league off the ground. White is no newcomer to controversy: Former UFC fighters Kajan Johnson and Clarence Dollaway filed a lawsuit in 2021 against Endeavor, the organization's parent company, alleging that UFC takes an inordinate share of the profits. But White is charging ahead. Three qualifying events have taken place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, ahead of the March 11 telecast on the streaming platform Rumble in which champions will be crowned in four weight classes. Power Slap fights are typically three to five rounds. The fighters take turns hitting each other in the face with an open hand, and those on the receiving end stand with their hands behind their backs. A fighter has up to 60 seconds to recover and respond after receiving a blow. Fighters can earn up to 10 points based on the effectiveness of the slap and the defender's reaction. Fights can end in a decision, knockout, technical knockout or disqualification, such as for an illegal slap. All slaps are subject to video review. Each event has two referees and three judges. Also present are a supervising doctor and a physician or physician's assistant, plus three EMTs and three ambulances. White has touted the safety record of the UFC, but has not talked specifically about injuries in the Power Slap League. White says slap fighting is safer than boxing or mixed martial arts because each contestant usually takes only three blows per bout. In boxing, White said, that number could be 400 or more, and that doesn't include the shots taken during sparring. There is no sparring in slap fighting, he noted. Nowinski of the concussion foundation said while there may be no sparring in practice sessions, that doesn't mean it doesn't happen elsewhere. He said comparing boxing to power slapping is misleading because slap fighters take a full blow each time. "You can slip (boxing) punches," Nowinski said. But in slap fighting "you're taking out everything that's interesting to watch and everything sporting (from boxing) and just doing the brain damage part." Nowinski said slap fighters don't make enough money to justify the risk. The Power Slap League wouldn't disclose how much it pays fighters, but said in a statement that participants are compensated for every match and can also earn "appearance fees" and "additional discretionary bonuses." Stephen J. Cloobeck, who was chairman of the state commission when it sanctioned slap fighting, said White and former UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta sold him on the legitimacy of the sport. "I made a mistake," Cloobeck said. "I'm not happy about it." The commission recently approved amended rules to better define what constitutes a legal slap in an effort to minimize serious injuries. "The No. 1 thing is the health and safety of the fighter," commission Chairman Anthony Marnell III said at a Feb 15 meeting. "Always has been, always will be." But he went on to say: "It seems like there is a market for this, whether you like it or not." Phillips, the slap fighter, said participants can defend themselves without losing points, such as rolling away before the hand makes impact. And the fighters know if they lose the coin toss and get slapped first, it will hurt. "I know what's coming," fighter Vernon Cathey said. "I'm tensing up. There's a lot of stuff I can do to protect myself."

General Secretary of Bangladesh Athletics Federation (BAF) Abdur Rakib Montu was elected the treasurer of the South Asian Athletics Federation Tuesday. Rakib was picked for the post at the annual general meeting of the South Asian Athletics Federation in the Maldives capital Male Tuesday. Abdur Rakib and BAF Joint Secretary Mizanur Rahman represented Bangladesh at the meeting. Earlier, BAF Vice-President Faruqul Islam also served as the treasurer of the South Asian Athletics Federation for four years, from 1997 to 2001  

Bangladesh's fastest man, the UK-based Bangladesh-origin sprinter Imranur Rahman on Sunday evening ceremonially received the country' s historic gold medal, first ever at Asian level from the men's 60-meter sprint of the 10th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships held at the Kazakhstan capital Astana. This is the first ever medal for any Bangladeshi athlete at Asian level athletics competition President of Asian Athletics Association Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad of Qatar handed over the glittering gold medal to Bangladeshi wonder boy Imranur Rahman at a medal distribution ceremony in Astana  Sunday evening when the national flag of  Bangladesh hoisted for the time in Asian meet and national anthem was also played. General Secretary of Bangladesh Athletics Federation Advocate Abdur Rakib Montu, now in Kazakhstan as Bangladesh team leader, was also present on the occasion and confirmed it to UNB over phone Sunday evening. Read more: National Athletics: Army lead medal table with 15 golds, 11 silvers, 13 bronzes Imranur Rahman, the two times fastest man of Bangladesh since his appearances  in the country's  athletics last year,  brought laurel for the country within one year by clinching the 60- meter sprint gold medal in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championship in Astana Saturday night. The 29-year-old sprinter Imranur Rahman clinched country's dream gold by winning the men's 60-meter sprint title  with a record timing of  6.59 seconds. Earlier, Imranur, took 6.70 seconds in the event's heats to qualify for the semifinals and made an improved  timing of  6.61 seconds to move into the final as the second best on photo-finish behind a Qatari sprinter. In the event's final on Saturday night, the Bangladesh wonder boy  Imranur  further improved his personal best timing of 6.59 seconds to win a surprise gold medal for  the country. Read More: Imranur, Shirin to represent Bangladesh in Asian Indoor Athletics Imranur's previous best timing of  the event was 6.64 seconds, which he made in the World Indoor Athletics stage in Belgrade in 2022. However, Bangladesh's fastest women's sprinter Shirin Akter was eliminated from the heats of the 60-meter sprint clocking 7.93 seconds. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, State Minister for Youth and Sports M Zahid Ahsan Russell MP, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister and Athletics Federation President M Tofazzel Hossain Miah and BOA President General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, in separate messages,  congratulated Imranur Rahman for bring laurel for the country. Read More: Glory brought to Bangladesh by women athletes changing public attitude, speakers say