Sports Ministry honours bronze winning Women's Kabaddi Team

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has honoured the Bangladesh national women's kabaddi team, which won bronze at the Asian Women's Kabaddi Championship in Iran. The reception was held on Tuesday at the meeting room of the National Sports Council (NSC).

The event's chief guest was the Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Rezaul Maksud Jahedi, while the special guest was the Secretary of the National Sports Council, Aminul Islam. During the programme, the Sports Adviser announced a grant of Tk 2.5 million for the Kabaddi Federation.

At the beginning of the event, the Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports welcomed the members of the Bangladesh women's team with flowers. Expressing the Sports Adviser's enthusiasm over the women's team's success, he said, "We are proud of our women's kabaddi team. The Honourable Sports Adviser is very pleased with this achievement. On behalf of the Adviser, we are honouring you."

"Kabaddi has great potential. We must plan how to defeat major teams. The Ministry of Youth and Sports stands with you. The budget for kabaddi will be increased in the future. The Sports Adviser has provided a grant of Tk 2.5 million to the Kabaddi Federation for advanced training. We believe that through quality training, our women's kabaddi team will achieve even greater success," he added.

General Secretary of the Kabaddi Federation, S M Nowaz Sohag, said, "We would like to thank the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the success of our women's team on the international stage. The ministry has always stood by the Kabaddi Federation. We also extend our gratitude to the Honourable Sports Adviser. There are many international tournaments ahead, and we will make every effort to perform well in them."

In the group stage of the Asian Women's Kabaddi Championship, Bangladesh secured a semi-final spot by defeating Thailand before winning the bronze medal. Regarding the match against Thailand, Bangladesh captain Shraboni Mallik said, "Thailand is a stronger team than us. Our match against them was very challenging. However, we believed we could defeat them. Everyone played exceptionally well, which is why we managed to win against Thailand."

Bangladesh women's team coach Shahnaz Parveen Maleka thanked the Kabaddi Federation, saying, "The Federation has provided all kinds of support for us to do well in the tournament. We have won our first medal in the Women's Kabaddi Championship, which is a matter of great pride. We had lost our place on the international stage, but we are regaining it. If we receive further support, we will be able to bring even more success to the country."

On Monday, the President of the Kabaddi Federation, Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam, honoured both the Bangladesh national men's team, which won the kabaddi series against Nepal 4-1, and the national women's team, which won bronze in Iran. He awarded Tk 500,000 to each team on behalf of the Kabaddi Federation.