Sports

Brazil Promises Peaceful World Cup

The law and order situation in Brazil has worsen recently.

Brazilian soccer authorities have promised that the 2014 World Cup will take place in a "climate of normality" despite this week's violence between police and drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro.

Organizers of the 2016 Olympic Games in the city also expressed their faith in security measures. At least 30 people have been killed this week in Rio in five consecutive days of fighting.

The city will be a key venue when Brazil stages the 2014 World Cup and is widely tipped to host the final at the Maracana. Two years later, it will become the first South American city to host the Olympics.

"I ratify the confidence in the public authorities and recognize the effort by the state government of Rio de Janeiro with the aim of reducing urban violence," said Brazilian Football Confederation president Ricardo Teixeira in a statement. "It can be seen that society is reacting strongly against the incidents provoked by criminals, in a demonstration that public opinion supports the security policies. As a consequence, I can assure the sporting community that host city Rio de Janeiro will have the climate of normality necessary to stage the Confederations Cup in 2013 and the World Cup in 2014."

Brazilian authorities have claimed that recent attacks by drugs gangs are a desperate response at police efforts to take control of their turf in more than a dozen slum areas.

The local organizing committee of the Rio Olympics also promised a trouble-free games.

"The Rio 2016 committee has full confidence in the security plans which have been elaborated jointly with the three levels of government (municipal, state and federal) and presented to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)," it said.

Gang violence has spilled over several times since Rio was awarded the 2016 Olympic Games in October 2009.

Cities such as Rio are also plagued by bus hold-ups, in which armed gangs board buses and rob all passengers between stops, car-jackings and so-called express kidnappings, in which victims are taken to cash points are forced to withdraw money at gunpoint.

Bravo Bangladesh!

Just watch what cricket is gifting Bangladesh. Just notice the amazing achievements of Bangladesh through cricket. Again cricket is making us smile amidst of so many unrests and pains. The people of Bangladesh will have another moment to cheer for. They can speak proudly that they are a Bangladeshi as Bangladesh has won a gold medal in the Asia games by beating Afghanistan in the final.

The team sport of Cricket became a medal sport at the 2010 Asian Games. The last time cricket featured in a major multi-sport event was at the 1998 Commonwealth Games held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the Proteas won the gold medal by beating Australia. At a general meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia, held in Kuwait on 17 April 2007, it was announced that cricket would be included as a medal sport in the 2010 Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou. Matches would be played on a Twenty20, 20-overs per side format.

To win a gold medal in a multi-sport event is a dream of every country. Bangladesh's participation in such multi-sport events in one word is pathetic so far. We hardly could manage any respect in any of the events let alone targeting the gold medals. But the inclusion of cricket had given Bangladesh a new hope. And at last the Tigers has delivered successfully.

In the final the Tigers' opponent was the cocky Afghanistan who surprised Pakistan in the semi-finals. Before the semi-final clash the Afghanistan coach Rashid Latif remarked that Afghanistan were a better side than Bangladesh. Confident coach but there was a certain amount of insult behind his remarks, as Latif belonged to the group of peoples who shouted against the Test status of Bangladesh.

But the answers of such insulting remarks are given through performances. And the Tigers did just that. In front of Rashid Latif the Tigers beat Afghans in style. Rashid Latif had to eat his own words. Cricket is not easy game Mr. Latif.

Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first. The bowlers were at the top from the very start. They were accurate and nagging. An unbeaten 38 off 36 balls helped the Afghans to post a total of 118-8 in 20 over. Naeem Islam, Shahadat Hossaina and Mohamamd Ashraful picked two wickets each.

But chasing the total Bangladeshi batting was reeling. The Afghan bowlers were wagging their tail. And at 75-5, the Tigers were left at bay. Naeem Islam held the one end steady and a swashbuckling knock was the need of the time to reach towards the cherished goal.

That goal was achieved through Shabbir Rahamn's stormy knock of 33 off 18 balls.

Bangladesh needed 19 runs off the last two overs as Shabbir Rahman hit successive straight sixes off Karim Khan Sadeq's 19th over as Bangladesh reached to 119 with only three balls to spare and five wickets in hand. Sadeq conceded 17 runs.

So, the gold medal has been achieved in a multi-sport event. Another glory is added in the history of Bangladesh sports. But it's all because of cricket. Cricket has made us proud cricket has again made us to say loudly, 'Bravo Bangladesh'… 'Bangladesh Zindabad'.

12th School Chess Competition

The 12th School Chess Competition began on Friday at 3:30 pm at the Chess Federation hall room. Bangladesh Chess Federation (BCF) is organizing the competition.

Competitors in 3 groups are participating- Group A for KG to 5th grade, Group B for 6th to 10th grade and Group C for the girls of KG to 10th grade. The competition is being held on the Swiss League system among the groups. Champions of each group will be awarded cash prize as well as trophy.

A Tk.720,000 budget was fixed for the competition which the sponsor Standard Chartered Bank is bearing.

10^th November, year 2000: History Not Made Easily

10^th November, year 2000 is a historic moment of world cricket history, particularly in Bangladesh cricket history.

On the mist morning of November 10, 2000, the Indian national cricket team Captain Sourav Ganguly went out for the toss with the test cricket's newest member Bangladesh national cricket team's captain Naimur Rahman… millions of eyes of cricket loving fans, were filled with tears as it was a dream which many cricket lovers in Bangladesh dreamt during the time when cricket simply had no chance against soccer after the liberation of the nation.

When the ICC announced Bangladesh's entry to Test cricket on the 26^th June, year 2000 many critics were bemused. Many were against the ICC's decision. Some ended up saying that Bangladesh got the Test status due to money. Majority of critics, most of whom were former-test cricketers knew very well that there was no easy way to make history.

Journey to 10^th November, 2000

Journey to 10^th November, 2000 was a long and winding one. In every step there was a big and unseen hurdle to overcome.

After the independence in 1971, cricket was no where in Bangladesh. The government in power after the liberation was not interested in cricket and avoided it declaring it as the game of the foreigners. Cricket was almost finished. But the diehard fans of crickets still there, who were eager to save cricket from an ultimate man-made death.

It Was Robin Marler

Robin Marler the venerable writer of cricket of 'The Sunday Times', wrote an article recalling the cricket fond memories he had of Dhaka Stadium during the East Pakistan era. He was not very well aware of the existence of competitive cricket in Bangladesh after the liberation. To him cricket was lost from a country where the capital's largest stadium was once blessed by legendary cricketers.

Syed Ashraful Haq, the former general secretary of the BCB, who was in England at that time completing his graduation in a London university, wrote a letter to Marlar in response to his article. He informed Marlar that cricket still existed in Bangladesh and it boasted of a good number of supporters.

That letter started a healthy relationship between Marlar and Ashraful Haq and eventually an effort of both of them and together with some initiatives from then BCCB convinced ICC that cricket was still alive in Bangladesh. It took eight long years to inform the bosses at Lords that cricket was still breathing in Bangladesh.

Rajshahi Stadium Where Bangladesh Cricket Restarts

In the late 1978 Marlar came to visit Bangladesh and this time with an MCC squad led by Clark. It was a big day at the Rajshahi stadium. Fans came in thousands crowding the little stadium as if they were about to watch a Mohammedan vs Abahani soccer match in their backyard. Young Raqibul Hasan went into bat and with that Bangladesh enters into international cricket. And many thanks to the then govt who backed cricket, gave cricket a life in this country.

1978 – Stepping Into International Cricket

The ICC in due course of time conferred upon Bangladesh the ICC associate membership of ICC and inducted her into the body's trophy calendar. Since then Bangladesh has been playing international cricket at home and abroad. Every year the Bangladesh team would wait for a provincial Indian team or MCC or a Sri Lankan side to visit the country and would face them with the gentle way. It had become a habit of the enthusiastic journalist to ask the visiting team's captain about the progress of Bangladesh cricket. Dilip Doshi, who visited Bangladesh with a Bengal team, when asked about the progress of Bangladesh cricket, he bluntly told that Bangladesh had no quality off-spinners,  presently, Bangladesh has three best left-arm off-spinners of the world.

A Sri Lankan team visited in the early 80's and our result against them was pathetic. It just showed the gulf of difference standard between a new Test team and an aspiring one. The same thing happened against the Hyderabad blues led by Angsuman Gawekwad. Bangladesh was simply scared by the fact that they had never face top quality opposition bowlers and by the time they gathered the boldness to face the opposition music the tour would come to a close.

Imran Khan Sees Today's Cricket

In 1988, cricket commentator and pundit Omar Kureshi visited Bangladesh with a star studded Pakistan side led by the majestic pathan Imran Khan. We were bamboozled by the pace and fury of Imran and Wasim and were clueless against Abdul Qadir. At the fag end of the tour something unusual happened in the Bangladesh camp. Rafiqul Alam, known to be an erratic genius, went to face the Pakistani attack and bludgeon them in a similar manner to  that of the Pakistani batsmen. It was a memorable scene at the Dhaka stadium as Rafiq had made Bangladesh's  head high.

At the end of the tour Imran Khan had to concede that Bangladesh cricket was rising from the ashes and would be better with the progress of time. He praised the batting of Rafiq, the pace bowling of Golam Nawsher Prince, the off-spin of Azahar Hossain Shantu.

And how true was Imran's faith on our cricket!

The Pakistanis visit in 1988 was a turning point in our cricket. It changed the whole mindset among the cricketers, officials and aficionados. After Imran's remarks people began to believe that the Bangladeshi boys can reach the pinnacle if given enough exposure. In the ICC trophy Bangladesh emerged as one of the teams to be beaten but the Zimbabweans snatched away the glory from Bangladesh thrice.

During 1994 edition of the ICC trophy Bangladesh was the overwhelming favorites. But once again the glory wasn't Bangladesh's cup of tea. Again, fate reminded our team 'history is not made easily'. A new-faced Kenya and a Pak-studded UAE side shut the doors for Bangladesh, who undoubtedly had plenty of promising cricketers. By the end of the year 1994 Bangladesh competed in the SAARC cricket tournament against the likes of Pakistan-A, India-A and Sri Lanka-A sides. Bangladesh beat India in the pool match and managed to claim a place in the finals. But in the finals India was too good for our team. But it was an achievement to be proud of and an indication of our cricket team's progress and the goods to come.

1997 – World Saw Inspiring Bangladesh Team

In the 1997 edition of ICC trophy Akram Khan led an inspired Bangladeshi team to their first ever victory in the championship. In a nail-biting final against Kenya at Kualalampur the Tigers created history by beating the Kenyans and thus progressed for the first ever world cup tournament. In 1998, Bangladesh hosted the inaugural ICC knockout tournament which is now known as the ICC Champions trophy.  Cricket pundits all over the world were amazed to see the enthusiasm among the people of Bangladesh in cricket. Even a match between Zimbabwe and New Zealand confirmed a packed stadium. Cricket craze in Bangladesh had been advertised wonderfully during that tournament.

1999 – The Golden Moment In First World Cup

1999 was the year when Bangladesh contested for the first time in the world cup. The start was shocking against the Kiwis but as the tournament progressed the Tigers performance flourished. The Tigers sealed their first worldcup win by beating Scotland and when they beat Pakistan it was announced to the world that Bangladesh is ready for any challenges.

The victory against Pakistan made the ICC and Lords think about the Test status for us. Inspections were made on our domestic structure and country's wealth of talents. Thankfully, Bangladesh's domestic structure is undoubtedly one of the soundest and it's a factory to produce talented youngsters for the future. The Kenyans still questions our test status, but they must realize that like them we are not dependent on a Steve Tikolo or a Maurice Odumbe. And for a test status it is important to have a standard first-class format which the Kenyans lack.

Since the victory against Pakistan – one of the most powerful cricket nations in the world, 'Bangladesh Cricket Board' officials took the challenge to seal the honors of 'Test Status' permanently to Bangladesh.

Their intense and enterprising lobbying in the world body, the ever growing passion among the people of Bangladesh for cricket, Eddie Barlow, the then coach of Bangladesh, successfully presented to ICC that cricket was thriving in Bangladesh and would continue in the years to come, a standard domestic structure made the ICC and Lords realized that Bangladesh had qualified to join the elite 'Test Club'.

All these had not happened easily…

The 10^th November, 2000 was not scripted in the twinkle of an eye.

There were stories of plenty of upsets, plenty of pains, plenty of tears, plenty of applications, plenty of hard works, plenty of patience, story of historic moments and plenty of insults to script the 10^thNovember, 2000.

So, for the critics, I must say again, history was not made easily…