United News of Bangladesh

Zhao Xintong dominated Mark Williams in the opening session of the world snooker championship final on Sunday, running up a 7-1 lead in his bid to become the first Chinese winner of the sport's biggest prize. Zhao, who thrashed seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan 17-7 in the semifinals, was in complete control at the Crucible Theatre against another great of the game, with Williams a three-time champion and playing the final at the age of 50. The 28-year-old Zhao won each of the first three frames to set the tone in the best-of-35-frames match and has made two centuries so far. He is the firm favorite to become just the third player in history to win the worlds after coming through qualification. Zhao is playing as an amateur in Sheffield, having only recently returned to competitive action following a 20-month ban for his role in the sport’s biggest match-fixing scandal. He was ranked No. 9 in the world when his suspension began after accepting charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself. Zhao has been free to play since his ban expired in September and, in January, secured a return to snooker’s main professional tour for next season. The only other Chinese player to have reached the final of the worlds is Ding Junhui, who in 2016 lost to Mark Selby 18-14. Ding is the trailblazer for a raft of Chinese players — one of them being Zhao — to have burst through, making the sport huge in their homeland. The second of four possible sessions in the final takes place later Sunday with nine more frames.

The Bangladesh national archery team will leave for China on Sunday night to participate in Stage-2 of the Archery World Cup 2025, scheduled to take place in Shanghai from May 6 to 11. The team comprises five archers—three in the recurve division and two in the compound division—alongside German head coach Martin Frederick. The recurve archers are Sagor Islam, Ram Krishna Saha and Abdur Rahman Alif, while Himu Bachar and Bonnya Akter will compete in the compound category. Speaking at a press conference held at the Dutch-Bangla Auditorium of the Bangladesh Olympic Association on Saturday, officials of the newly formed ad-hoc committee of the Bangladesh Archery Federation shared details of the team’s participation. Tamim turns focus to grassroots, urges local cricket development Federation President Dr Moklesh-ur Rahman, Vice President Malik Mohammad Sayeed, General Secretary Tanvir Ahmed, former general secretary Kazi Razib Uddin Ahmed Chapal and Coach Frederick addressed the briefing. “Our first target is to reach the quarterfinals and also improve our compound division’s global ranking ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” said Coach Frederick.

Bangladesh U-19 took a strong 3-1 lead in the six-match youth ODI series against Sri Lanka with a 146-run win in Colombo on Friday. Opening batter Zawad Abrar starred with a century, finishing on 100 off 95 balls. He reached the landmark in style, hitting a flicked six in the 35th over after a 133-run stand with Rizan Hasan. This was Zawad’s second hundred of the series, having earlier scored an unbeaten 130 in the second match. Bangladesh posted 336 for 8 — their second-highest total in Youth ODIs. Rizan supported Zawad with 82 off 77 balls. In the final overs, Samiun Bashir (23 off 8) and Al Fahad (19 off 5) added vital runs to lift the score further. Bangladesh eliminated from Women’s U-19 World Cup after losing to India Chasing 337, Sri Lanka were never in the game. They lost four wickets inside 36 runs and were eventually bowled out for 190 in 38.4 overs. Captain Bimath Dinsara’s half-century was the only highlight for the hosts. Pacer Al Fahad picked up 3 for 41 while left-arm spinner Sanjid and captain Azizul Hakim took two wickets each. With this win, Bangladesh have ensured they won’t lose the series. Zawad now has a chance to match Towhid Hridoy’s record of three centuries in a youth bilateral series for Bangladesh, with two matches still to play.

Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus has parted ways with Al-Hilal by mutual consent, the Saudi club announced on Saturday. The 70-year-old's exit comes just four days after Al-Hilal suffered a semifinal defeat to domestic rival Al-Ahli in the AFC Champions League Elite. "The Board of Directors of Al-Hilal Club Company has agreed with the Portuguese head coach of the first football team Jorge Jesus to terminate the contractual relationship between them," the club said in a social media post. Neymar completes Saudi move to Al Hilal after 6 seasons with Paris Saint-Germain Appointed in July 2023, the former Benfica boss led Al-Hilal to a record-breaking 34-game winning streak and secured their 19th Saudi Pro League title last season. However, this season the club trails league leaders Al-Ittihad by six points with only five matches left. Mohammed Al-Shalhoub will serve as interim head coach. Reports in Saudi media suggest the club plans to appoint a new foreign manager before facing Real Madrid in their opening FIFA Club World Cup match on June 18. Meanwhile, Jesus is being linked with the vacant Brazil national team coaching role, following the dismissal of Dorival Junior in March.  

Lord's will host the final of the Women's T20 World Cup in 2026. Other venues for the expanded 12-team competition include Old Trafford, Headingley, Edgbaston, Hampshire Bowl, the Oval, and Bristol County Ground, AP reports. The Women's T20 World Cup has teams competing in two groups followed by a knockout stage, and begins on June 12. The final will be on July 5. Eight countries have secured their place, including host England, Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and West Indies. The four remaining spots will be decided in World Cup qualifying next year. New Zealand beat South Africa in the 2024 final. Barcelona and Inter Milan draw 3-3 in thrilling first leg of their Champions League semifinal Lord's, which first held a match in 1814, also previously hosted the 50-over Women's World Cup final between England and India in 2017. “The sell-out Women’s Cricket World Cup final at Lord’s in 2017 remains a landmark in the rise of the women’s game, and I cannot think of a more fitting stage,” International Cricket Council chair Jay Shah said on Thursday. “We are excited by the promise of thrilling T20 action that will not only captivate fans here, but also serve as a showcase for cricket’s return on the Olympic stage in Los Angeles 2028.”

Bangladesh have been placed in the strong, difficult Group H of the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup’ 2026 Qualifiers with former champions South Korea, hosts Laos and Timor-Leste. The Group H matches will be held in Laos from August 2-10, The ceremonial draw of the 33-team AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers was held on Monday (April 28) at the AFC headquarters in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Premier Division Super League: Mohammedan, Abahani, Agrani Bank all win Eight group champions, three best group runners-up and hosts Thailand will play in the 12-team final round of the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 will be held in Thailand from April 1-18 next year. Bangladesh U-20 Women’s team never played in the final round of the AFC tournament although Bangladesh U-16 Women’s team played in the final round of the Asian meet for two consecutive occasions. AHF Cup Hockey : Holders Bangladesh eliminated from semifinal losing to Oman Ahead of the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers, Bangladesh Women’s team will compete in the Asian Cup Qualifiers (Senior) in Myanmar in the last week of next June and also participated in the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship in Bangladesh from July 1-11.

Last four times champions Bangladesh have to satisfy with the 3rd place of the 10-nation Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Cup beating  Kazakhstan by 3-0 goals in a place deciding match at the CBK Hockey Field in Jakarta on Sunday. Arshad Hossain put Bangladesh ahead in the 3rd minute by a field goal (1-0), Ashraful Islam doubled the margin in the 37th minute from a penalty corner (2-0) while Rakibul Hasan sealed the fate of the match scoring a field goal in the 47th minute (3-0). Bangladesh outplayed Kazakhstan by 5-1 goals in a group match of the ongoing meet. Earlier, Holders Bangladesh miserably failed to qualify for the eight-team final round of the Men's Asia Cup Hockey 25 after about 42 years as they were eliminated from the semifinal of the ongoing AHF Cup losing to Oman by 4-5 goals at the same venue last Friday. By beating Bangladesh, Oman booked a seat in the final Sunday (April 27) evening against Chinese Taipei, which reached the title deciding final crushing Kazakhstan by 7-1 goals in the first semifinal. Towhid Hridoy handed four-match ban amid controversy Both the Oman and Chinese Taipei- qualified for the final round of this year's Men's Asia Cup Hockey as the finalists of the ongoing AHF Cup Hockey. The eight-team final round of the Men's Asia Cup Hockey 2025 billed for the Indian city of Rajgir, Bihar from Aug 27 to Sept 7 next. Six teams--defending champions South Korea, hosts India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan and China--directly qualified for the final round of the Men's Asia Cup Hockey as per rankings.

Former Indian cricket captain and ex-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sourav Ganguly, has called for an end to cricketing relations between India and Pakistan. "100 per cent, this (breaking ties with Pakistan) should be done. Strict action is necessary. It is no joke that such things happen every year. Terrorism cannot be tolerated," Ganguly said during his interview with ANI after Pahalgam attack. Hyderabad notches its first IPL win at Chepauk as Chennai's struggles continue In recent years, the two sides have only faced each other in ICC tournaments like the T20 and 50-over World Cups, the ICC Champions Trophy, and Asia Cup events organized by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

Four Bangladeshi women athletes who recently accompanied Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on a official visit to Qatar returned home and shared their experience with the media on Friday at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka. This historic visit was the first time that female athletes joined the head of government as official delegates on a foreign mission. Footballers Afida Khandakar and Shaheda Akhter Ripa, and cricketers Sumaiya Akhter and Sharmin Sultana represented Bangladesh’s growing presence in women’s sports. Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder introduced the athletes to the media on Friday, after they returned home.  “They visited Qatar’s sports facilities, met with senior sports officials, and were interviewed by the local media. It was a completely new experience for them,” Azad Majumder said. Sharmin Sultana was one of the two women cricketers of this visit, she said the tour was significant for them.  “We visited two major stadiums, one of which hosted the men’s FIFA World Cup and is now dedicated to women’s football. We also had the chance to speak with the founder of the Qatar Foundation, which supports women’s sports,” Sharmin said in front of the media.  “It was an honour. People congratulated us throughout the trip,” Sumaiya Akhter, the other cricketer, said.  Shaheda Akter Ripa noted that the visiting team discussed injury management challenges for female athletes in Bangladesh during their meetings. “We raised the issue of limited rehab facilities for women in sports” he said, recalling their meeting with the high official of Qatar Foundation.  “It was a huge achievement for us and for women’s sports in Bangladesh to travel as official representatives with the Chief Adviser,” Afida Khandakar, the woman footballer, said.  The visit was part of Bangladesh’s official delegation to the Earthna Summit in Doha. After finishing the Qatar visit, the Chief Adviser travelled to the Vatican to attend the funeral of the Pope, who recently passed away after suffering prolonged illness.

Four-time champions Bangladesh miserably eliminated from the semifinal stage of the 10-nation Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Cup losing to their traditional rivals Oman by a narrow 4-5 goals  at CBK Hockey Field in Jakarta Friday evening. Oman, which booked a seat for the final at the coffin of Bangladesh, will play the final on Sunday (April 27) at 6 pm at the same venue against Chinese Taipei, which qualified for the title deciding match crushing  Kazakhstan by 7-1 goals in the day's first semifinal. Both the finalists ---Oman and Chinese Taipei--also qualified for the final round of this year's Men's Asia Cup Hockey as the two top teams of the ongoing AHF Cup Hockey. With the day's shocking defeat, Bangladesh missed the final round of the Men's Asia Cup Hockey after a long times. The eight team final round of the Men's Asia Cup Hockey 2025 billed for the Indian city of Rajgir, Bihar from Aug 27 to Sept 7 next. Six teams--Defending champions South Korea, hosts India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan and China--directly qualified for the final round of the Men's Asia Cup Hockey as per their ranking.  However, Bangladesh will play the 3rd place deciding match against Kazakhstan on Sunday (April 26) at 3:30 pm Bangladesh time. In the day's 2nd semifinal, Sohanur Rahman Shobuj struck twice for Bangladesh in the 13th and 54th minutes -- first one from penalty corner and 2nd from a penalty stroke. Ashraful Islam and Obaidur Rahman Joy scored the remaining two goals for Bangladesh in the 24th and 38th minutes respectively.