DHAKA, March 1, 2023 (BSS) - The final phase matches of Sheikh Kamal 2nd Bangladesh Youth Games continued on the fourth day (Wednesday) at separate venues in the city.

Weightlifting 

Khulna division's boys maintained supremacy in weightlifting event of the Games winning five gold and three bronze medals while Rangpur division finished second in the combined medal tally with three gold, four silver and one bronze. Dhaka division finished third with two gold, one silver and equal number of bronze medal.

Rajshahi division bagged two silver and one bronze while Mymensingh division secured two bronze medals held at army controlled Wushu shade of Bangladesh Army Stadium.

Syed Monir Hassan of Khulna division won gold in the boys' 73 kg weight category by lifting 183 kg (84 in snatch and 99 in clean and jerk). Meraj of Rajshahi division lifted 160 (70 in snatch, 90 in clean and jerk) kg to win silver and Mymensingh division's Fakhruddin Saim lifted 105 kg (snatch 45, clean and jerk 60) to win bronze.

Sheikh Nyamul of Khulna division won gold in +73 kg weight category by lifting 198 kg (89 in snatch, 109 in clean and jerk), Nazim Parvez of Rangpur lifted 160 kg (73 in snatch, 87 in clean and jerk) on his way to winning silver and Utsha Kumar Pal of Mymensingh division bagged bronze by lifting 157 kg (69 in snatch, 88 in clean and jerk).

Dhaka's girl Tanisha Afroz Sumaiya, the only competitor in 59 kg, won gold by lifting 40 kg in snatch and 50 kg in clean and jerk.

Sathi Rani Kundu, the only girl competitor of the Rangpur division, won gold by lifting 35 kg in snatch and 40 kg in clean and jerk.

Shooting 

Dhaka division's shooter Khwaja Abdul Waheed won the gold in the boys' 10m air pistol shooting event that has begun today (Wednesday) at Bangladesh Shooting Sports Federation range in the city's Gulshan.

Dhaka division also secured silver as shooter Raziur Rahman Rumel bagged the medal. Hedayetur Rahman Khan of Rajshahi division won the bronze medal.

Mehjabeen Mehtaz Masud of Dhaka division won gold medal in the girls' 10m air pistol event while Momtahina Biswas of Rajshahi division and Sui Kriching Marma of Chattogram division bagged the bronze medals.

Karate
 
The karate discipline of the Game has begun from today (Wednesday) at Mirpur Indoor Stadium.

Single Kata and Kumi events were held this morning in the boys' and girls' category. Chattogram division won three out of the first four karate gold medals.

Singh Kyu ue of Chattogram division won the gold medal in the boys' singles kata, Muharram Ali bagged silver at the same category while Shahriar Ahmed Zarif and Tasfiqur Rahman of Dhaka division secured bronze medal. Amit Kanti Dey of Chattogram division won the gold in the boys' U-45 kg kumi event. Gholam Musafiquzzaman Shakeel won the silver medal in the same category while Moniruzzaman Kaushik of Mymensingh and Sheikh Rumel of Barisal bagged the bronze medal.

Ruitam Mro of Chattogram division won gold in the girls' single kata, Shainai Marma won the silver medal in the same category while Sheikh Mariaz Islam of Barisal division and Saraf Anjum of Dhaka won bronze medal. Riya Binte Rahman of Dhaka won the gold medal in girls' U-40 kg kumi, Rajshahi's Abida Syedatul Mukarraboon bagged silver while Nafiza Anjum Haque of Chattogram and Eva Akhter of Dhaka secured bronze medals.

Rugby
 
The rugby discipline of Youth Games has begun from today (Wednesday) at Paltan ground adjoining the Bangabandhu National Stadium in the city.
Bangladesh Gymnastics Federation's (BGF) president and BOA's vice president Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Mamun formally inaugurated the three-day meet as the chief guest.

Bangladesh Rugby Federation's (BRF) president SM Shafiuddin Ahmed Mohiuddin presided over the opening ceremony while general secretary of the BRF Mousum Ali was also present there.

Athletes of boys and girls from Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet, Rangpur and Mymensingh divisions, split into two groups, are participating in the meet.

On first day, Khulna defeated Dhaka by 25-0 points, Sylhet beat Mymensingh by 5-0 points, Chattogram beat Rajshahi by 10-0 point, Rangpur defeated Barisal by 19-0 points, Khulna outplayed Rajshahi by 17-0 points and Mymensingh beat Barisal by 5-0 points in the boys' matches.

While Dhaka defeated Barisal by 30-0 points, Chattagram beat Rajshahi by 31-0 points and Rangpur outplayed Sylhet by 17-0 points in the girls' matches.

Gymnastics
 
The gymnastics discipline of the Youth Games has begun from today (Wednesday) at National Sports Council gymnasium in the city. 

Bangladesh Olympic Association's (BOA), Secretary General Syed Shahed Reza formally inaugurated the event as the chief guest by releasing balloons.

Bangladesh Gymnastics Federation's (BGF) president and BOA's vice president Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Mamun presided over the inaugural ceremony of the Games, organised by BOA.

BOA's treasurer AK Sarkar, BGF's general secretary Ahamedur Rahman Bablu, national gymnastics team's Korean coach Cho Sung-dong, were among others, also present during the opening ceremony.

Seventy four athletes will compete in eight categories in the three-day meet. The gymnasts will start their battle for the medals from tomorrow (Thursday).

Before the formal inauguration of the event, one minute silence was observed for the tragic death of cyclist Mashrafe Hossain Maruf. This is the first time gymnastics has been added to the Youth Games.
 
Under the supervision of Korean coach Cho Sung-dong, the national team gymnasts performed a fascinating five minutes demo in front of the guests. 

BOA's Secretary General Syed Shahed Reza said: "I am very happy to see the Sheikh Kamal 2nd Youth Games Gymnastics programme and optimistic with this gymnastics, who will be able to give us results in the int'l arena."
 
Dhaka defeated Barisal by 30-0 points, Chittagong defeated Rajshahi by 31-0 and Rangpur defeated Sylhet by 17-0 points in the girls' matches.

Basketball

Rangpur and Dhaka division moved semifinals of the girls basketball eliminating their respective rivals held today (Wednesday) at army controlled basketball court of Bangladesh Army Stadium. 

In the day's matches, Rangpur division emerged as the group A champions after beating Rajshahi division by 31-19 points while Dhaka division confirmed their spot of last four as group B runners-up after beating Mymensing division by 32-14 points in the day's second match.
  
Meanwhile, Khulna division take on Chattogram division in the first semifinal while Dhaka face Rangpur in the second semis. Both the matches will be held tomorrow at the same venue. 

Archery

The archery discipline of the Games has begun from today at Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master Stadium in Tongi.

Bangladesh Archery Federation's president Lieutenant General (retd. Mainul Islam formally inaugurated the meet as the chief guest. 

Thirty seven of boys archer and forty girls archers of the eight division archery teams are participating in recurve division of the three-day meet.

Speaking as the chief guest federation's president Lt Gen (retd.) Mainul Islam said 'The Youth Games is a good pipeline to get new talented players. It needs to be arranged every two years instead of every four years. If we want to bring players from the grassroots, it has to start from the school and college level.'

Handball

Dhaka beat Rajshahi by 41-11 goals, Rangpur beat Mymensingh by 40-13 goals, Chattogram beat Sylhet by 38-17 goals and Khulna beat Barisal by 32-16 goals in the boys' handball held at Shaheed Captain M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium. 

Earlier, one minute silence was observed before the start of each discipline of the Youth Games on the death of medal winning cyclist Mashrafe Hossain Maruf.

Hockey

Dhaka division face Rajshahi division in boys' hockey's final scheduled to be held tomorrow (Thursday) at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium.

The match kicks off at 3 pm, following the girls' final match between Khulna and Chattogram that begins at 1 pm at the same venue.

Dhaka's captain Asaduzzaman Chand said Dhaka plays for the title in any competition. Of course, we want to win the title by showing our style in an elegant and beautiful way. 

On the other hand, Rajshahi's captain Rahid Hossain said with complacency that they are upbeat to go home with the title. 

Meanwhile, Dhaka division secured bronze medal beating Rajshahi division by a solitary goal scored by Suborna Akter in the 44th minute in the girls' hockey's place-deciding match. 

While Chattogram division bagged the bronze medal beating Rangpur division by 2-0 goals in shoot out in the boys' hockey's place-deciding match.

The match rolled into a tie breaker after the regulation time ended in a 2-2 goal draw.

Table Tennis 

Chattogram division comprising Reshmi Tanchanga, Khai Khai Marma, Aishi Rahman won the gold medal by defeating Khulna by straight 3-0 set in the girls' table tennis final held at Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium in the city.

Rajshahi division featuring Nafis, Joy, Sagar won the gold medal in the boys' event beating Chattogram division by 3-1 sets in the final.

Besides, Khulna and Dhaka bagged the bronze medals.

Bangladesh Table Tennis Federation's president Mejbah Uddin distributed the prizes after the finals.

Football

Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division have confirmed their spot of girls' final in football eliminating their respective rivals in the semifinals held at BFF artificial turf in the city's Motijheel. 

Rajshahi Division booked their place of final beating Dhaka Division by 3-2 goals in the penalty shootout in the keenly contested first semi-final after the regulation time ended in a tame goalless draw.
 
The day's another semi-final, Rangpur Division thrashed Chattogram division by 7-2 goals with Swapna slammed a brilliant hat-trick with four goals and Rivana struck twice while Maurashi netted the remaining one goal for the winners'.

Menti Chakma scored two goals for the losing team.

Rajshahi division will face Rangpur divisions in the gold-deciding match scheduled to be held on Friday (March 3) at the same venue. 

Dhaka division will play against the Chattogram division in the bronze-deciding match on the same day.

Wrestling 

Three gold medals were decided on the first day in wrestling event held at Sheikh Russel Roller Skating Complex in the city with Khulna division bagged two gold and Rangpur division won one gold medal. 

Nayeem Khandkar of Khulna won gold, Musa Bin Abdullah of Chattogram division bagged silver and Mahmudur Rahman of Chattogram and Salman Khan of Khulna division secured bronze in boys' 80 kg weight category.

While Mohana Khatun of Khulna division won gold, JC Akhter of Rajshahi division won silver and Pinki Biswas of Khulna won bronze in the girls' 65 kg category.

Sumaiya Akhter of Rangpur division won gold, Umeha Marma of Chattogram bagged silver and Aparna Sarkar of Rangpur and Singha Ghatak of Khulna won bronze medals in the girls' 53 kg weight category.

Bangladesh Wrestling Federation president Shajahan Khan, MP, distributed the medals to the winners. Federation's general secretary Tabiur Rahman Palowan was also present during the prize distribution ceremony.

Earlier, one minute silence was observed before start of each discipline of the Games on the death of medal winning cyclist Mashrafe Hossain Maruf.