Bangladesh News

Bangladesh bowed out of the 10th South Asian Games football competition with a 2-1 loss to archrivals India at the Sugathadasa Stadium here yesterday.

Although Bangladesh had beaten India for the first time in the history of the regional Games at this very ground in 1991, the current crop, despite playing a very attacking game in the second half, failed to repeat the same act in the crunch Group B match.

India lead the first half 2-0. Feroz Mahmud Titu pulled one

goal back for Bangladesh converting a 68th minute penalty but that was not enough for them to avoid an early elimination from the competition.

The victory took India through to the last four from the group along with Nepal, who thrashed Afghanistan 5-1 last night.

While the booters failed to fire, the swimmers enjoyed mixed bag in the Sugathadasa Swimming Complex.

Jewel Ahmed produced the first silver when he finished the men’s 50m butterfly in 26.60s, 0.63s behind India’s Virdhaval Khade. The bronze went to hosts Sri Lanka. Jewel had won a bronze two years ago in Islamabad at 26.19s.

Bangladesh also won a couple of bronze medals in the pool, Niaz Ali in men’s 200m breaststroke and Mahfuza Khatun in women’s 100m breaststroke.

Mahfuza was tipped to win the first gold for a female swimmer, but it remained elusive. She clocked 1:20.90s to touch the block in an event that Sri Lankan Mayumi Raheem won with Games record timing of 1:15.84s, breaking India’s monopoly in the first day’s swimming competition. The remaining six swimming gold medals went to India.

Meanwhile, weight lifter Ekramul Islam won the first medal for Bangladesh at the Games when he lifted bronze in the 56kg category. His elder brother Hamidul Islam also won a bronze in the 62kg event.

In other events, Dolly Akhter finished fourth in the women’s 100m breaststroke and took a distant fifth place in the 50m freestyle. Afsana Talukder finished sixth in the 50m freestyle while the men’s 4×200 fresstyle relay team clinched fourth position, behind India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.