For the first time, Bangladesh has reached the quarter-finals of the World Junior Tennis Championship (U-14) qualifiers in the Asia region. In Bahrain, competing against 21 nations, Bangladesh secured a top-eight spot after defeating Saudi Arabia last night. The top four teams will qualify for the final round in the Czech Republic from 4 to 9 August.
Bangladesh Tennis Federation’s General Secretary, Ishtiaque Ahmed, called this a “historic success,” as the team had never advanced to this stage before.
Bangladesh began with a dominant 3-0 win over Nepal. Rakin Rahman and Kabya Gayan won their singles matches, while the doubles team of Kabya and Akash secured an easy victory. In the second match against Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh lost the first singles match but bounced back to win the next singles and doubles, securing a 2-1 victory.
Meanwhile, in Dhaka, top tennis player Hanif Munna has been banned from the ongoing National Tennis Championship for misconduct. During his quarter-final match against Dipu Lal at Ramna Tennis Complex, Hanif allegedly ignored the umpire’s decisions, argued with officials, and verbally abused his opponent, leading Dipu to withdraw.
Following complaints from the umpire and referee, the Tennis Federation imposed a ban on Hanif, barring him from competing and even entering the Ramna Tennis Complex until further notice.
Hanif denied the allegations, claiming the decision was unfair and that he was a victim of favouritism