Atique Anam

“Paolo Rossi was the one who beat Zico’s Brazil, Maradona’s Argentina, Boniek’s Poland and in the final, the Germany of Rummenigge,” the Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy’s top sports newspaper, wrote in its online column on Thursday following the Tuscan legend’s death at the age of 64.

Following the 5-0 defeat against Qatar in a World Cup qualifying fixture in Doha on Friday night, Bangladesh coach Jamie Day was quick to emphasise that the margin of defeat, despite it being the biggest of his tenure, was not an unexpected one. Instead, the coach wanted to take the positives from the match while looking forward to what comes next.

Bangladesh’s premier golfer Siddikur Rahman is prepared to forego the riches on offer in the Indian tour and even the lure of a second Olympics participation in order to be safe and secure from the clutches of Covid-19.

An iconic footballer and sports organiser, Badal Roy lost his battle with cancer and breathed his last in Dhaka on Sunday.

When watching Italy take on Poland in a crucial Nations League fixture on Sunday night, it was hard not to draw a few parallels between the four-time world champions and Bangladesh, one of the lowest-ranked footballing nations in the world.

In the late hours of Saturday, following an exhausting-yet-satisfying BFF Elective Congress when Kazi Salahuddin, surrounded by his jubilant panel members, announced to media that he “would work together with those from the opposition panel for the love and betterment of football”, one could not help wonder whether he was speaking from a script from 12 years ago or, for that matter, eight or even four years ago.

The Kurmitola Golf Club inside the Dhaka Cantonment should have been abuzz with members, golfers and caddies: playing, practising and spending a lively time golfing and in social activities. Instead, the sumptuous clubhouse and the sprawling course -- the finest in the country -- is deserteded. There is an eerie silence about this place, a silence that reverberates around a dozen or so public and private golf courses around the country.

The first match I watched live from a venue, unless my memory deceives me, was the India v Pakistan cricket match during the 1988 Wills Asia Cup in Dhaka.

Had it not been for the South Asian Games towards the end of the year, it would have been really difficult to gauge the performance of myriad sports, which do not get the exposure and competitive platforms that cricket and football have.

Gaurika Singh, the Nepal’s swimming sensation, was for the second time the headline of almost all the national newspaper front pages on Tuesday as the country wrapped up the 13th South Asian Games with unprecedented success.

The 13th South Asian Games came to an end yesterday, bringing the curtain down on the largest multi-discipline sporting extravaganza of the region at the Dasarath Rangasala in Kathmandu.

Ety Khatun and Suma Biswash, two of the lesser-known archers from Bangladesh, could not hold back their tears as they rose to prominence by winning gold medals in the 13th South Asian Games to lead the country to unprecedented success, both for the discipline and the country.

Bangladesh’s archers swept all 10 gold medals of the 13th South Asian Games, cruising to the title in the four events decided yesterday and in doing so, set a few individual and collective records in Pokhara.

14-year-old Ety Khatun could have been doing household chores in a village in Chuwadanga had she not restrained her parents from arranging her marriage two years ago.

The recently-constructed Rangasala in Pokhara yesterday became the scene of Bangladesh’s most successful day in the history of the South Asian Games, turning into a gold-mine for the country, who won seven gold medals yesterday -- the single-best haul for Bangladesh, beating the previous best of four golds on a single day from the 2010 edition held in Dhaka.

Soumya Sarkar might have failed to score big against Nepal, but there was no failure in drawing fans wherever he goes since coming to Kathmandu for the 13th South Asian Games.

Mabia Akter Simanta ended Bangladesh’s three-day gold-drought at the 13th South Asian Games yesterday before two more gold medals on the day turned it into Bangladesh’s best day of the Games since Day 3.

Ardina Ferdous was overcome with joy after she won a silver medal in the women’s individual 10m air pistol event of the 13th South Asian Games at the Satdobato Sports Complex in Kathmandu yesterday.

The front pages of most of the national newspapers in Nepal on Friday were flush with blown-up pictures of Gaurika Singh, the Nepalese swimmer who just won her country its first-ever swimming individual gold in the history of the South Asian Games.

Bangladesh’s 400m sprint hope Zahir Raihan and fellow sprinter Abu Taleb failed to participate in the final of the event yesterday, owing to breathing problems and high pulse-rates due to the high altitude of Kathmandu, raising serious questions about the Bangladesh Olympic Association and Bangladesh Athletics Federation’s preparation and planning regarding the 13th South Asian Games.