Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 163 million people in an area of either 148,460 square kilometres (57,320 sq mi) or 147,570 square kilometres (56,980 sq mi), making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Bangladesh shares land borders with India to the west, north, and east, Myanmar to the southeast, and the Bay of Bengal to the south. It is narrowly separated from Nepal and Bhutan by the Siliguri Corridor; and from China by 100 km of the Indian state of Sikkim in the north. Dhaka, the capital and largest city, is the nation's economic, political, and cultural hub. Chittagong, the largest seaport, is the second-largest city.
Bengal is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predominantly covering present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. Geographically, it is made up by the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta system, the largest such formation in the world, along with mountains in its north bordering the Himalayan states of Nepal and Bhutan, and east bordering Myanmar.
Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of a court, touch out as many of their defenders as possible, and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders, and in a single breath. Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are taken out of the game if they are touched or tackled, but are brought back in for each point scored by their team from a tags or tackle.
Dhaka, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and the largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the largest city in the Bengal region. It is the eighth-largest and the fourth-most densely populous city in the world with, as of 2011, a population of 8.9 million residents within the city limits, and a population of over 21.7 million residents in the Greater Dhaka Area. Dhaka is the economic, political, and cultural center of Bangladesh, and is one of the major cities in South Asia, the largest city in Eastern South Asia and among the Bay of Bengal countries; and one of the largest cities among OIC countries. As part of the Bengal plain, the city is bounded by the Buriganga River, Turag River, Dhaleshwari River and Shitalakshya River.
Chittagong, officially Chattogram, is a major coastal city and financial centre in southeastern Bangladesh. The city had a population of more than 8.7 million in 2017, making it the second-largest city in the country. It is the capital and administrative seat of an eponymous District and Division. The city is located on the banks of the Karnaphuli River between the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Bay of Bengal. Modern Chittagong is Bangladesh's second most significant urban centre after Dhaka.
The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland. It is the oldest of several trophies awarded under the umbrella of the Six Nations Championship, which include the Millennium Trophy, Centenary Quaich, Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy, Auld Alliance Trophy, the Doddie Weir Cup.
The Bangladesh national football team is the national recognised football team of Bangladesh and is controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation, and became a member of FIFA in 1974. Even though the Bangladesh Football Federation was first founded in 1972. Bangladesh was elected as a member of the AFC Executive Committee in 1982–1986 and 1998–2002. The current Executive Committee was elected democratically, under an AFC approved constitution and direct supervision of FIFA & AFC, in April 2008.
Jagmohan Dalmiya was an Indian cricket administrator and businessman from the city of Kolkata. He was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India as well as the Cricket Association of Bengal. He had previously served as the President of the International Cricket Council.
East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadha from which it inherits its various Eastern Indo-Aryan languages.
Minhajul Abedin Nannu is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 27 ODIs from 1986 to 1999. He captained Bangladesh twice during the Asia Cup of 1990–91. In local cricket arena he is more commonly known by his nickname, "Nannu".
Sport in Pakistan is a significant part of Pakistani culture. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan, while field hockey, polo, and squash are also popular. Traditional sports like kabaddi and other well-known games are also played. The Pakistan Sports Board was created in 1962 by the Ministry of Education as a corporate body for the purposes of promoting and developing uniform standards of competition in sports in Pakistan comparable to the standards prevailing internationally, and regulating and controlling sports in Pakistan on a national basis. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, now has control over the Pakistan Sports Board. The PSB controls all 39 sporting federations. The Pakistan Sports Board is supported by the Pakistan Sports Trust, which assists hard up players and associations so they can continue participating in sports.
The culture of Bengal defines the cultural heritage of the Bengali people native to eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly what is today Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley, where the Bengali language is the official and primary language. Bengal has a recorded history of 1,400 years. The Bengali people are its dominant ethnolinguistic group. The region has been a historical melting point, blending indigenous traditions with cosmopolitan influences from pan-Indian subcontinental empires. Bengal was considered to be the richest part of Islamic medieval India and during the era of the Bengal Sultanate it was described to be a major trading nation in the world, while during Mughal times, having triggered the proto-industrialization, its economy was worth 12% of global GDP. However, significant socio-economic inequalities existed during this period. As a part of the Bengal Presidency, it also hosted the region's most advanced political and cultural centers during British rule. Historically Feudalism has been widespread in the entire eastern Indian region. The feudal system flourished to a large extent under the British administration, which served as a means to exploit the Indian peasants by the British colonizers. This created a class of rich landlords in Bengal and a large population of poor peasants. It is noteworthy that a major portion of the Bengali intellectual community during the British era emerged from this wealthy class of landlords, as primarily they belonged to well educated families and got the economic opportunities to receive English education, often from abroad. The lower social classes remained in abject poverty and illiteracy. Thus, although the contribution of the Bengali intellectual community has been immense towards literature, science, politics and the Indian freedom movement, but still as it flourished under an exploitative imperial government, it mostly constituted of individuals belonging to the wealthy landlord families.
Football is the second-most popular sport in Bangladesh, after cricket, and is governed by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).
Cricket is the most popular sport in Bangladesh. There is a strong domestic league which on many occasions also saw Test players from many countries gracing the cricket fields of Bangladesh. In the year 2000 Bangladesh became a full member of the International Cricket Council, which allows the national team to play Test cricket. The Bangladesh national cricket team goes by the nickname of the Tigers – after the Royal Bengal Tiger. At present among the most popular cricket players in Bangladesh are Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mustafizur Rahman and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza. Becoming champion in the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup is the country's biggest cricketing achievement.
Sports in India refers to the large variety of games played in India, ranging from tribal games to more mainstream sports such as field hockey, kabaddi, cricket, badminton and football. India's diversity of culture, people, and tribes are reflected in the wide variety of sporting disciplines in the country.
Rugby union in India is a minor sport. However, it is a fast-growing sport as some Indian sporting clubs are beginning to embrace the game. Rugby union is the second most popular winter sport after association football in India, which itself trails greatly in popularity to cricket.
Sport in Sri Lanka is a significant part of Sri Lankan culture. Although the Sports Ministry named volleyball the national sport, the most popular sport is Cricket. Rugby union is also popular. Other popular sports are water sports, badminton, athletics, football, basketball and tennis. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organize sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.
Sport in Bangladesh is a popular form of entertainment as well as an essential part of Bangladeshi culture. Cricket is the most popular sport in Bangladesh. Ha-du-du is the national sport of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is one of the top 10 cricketing nation of the world and have regularly qualified for World cup since 1999, the Country achieved arguably their greatest heights in Cricket when they defeated three of top-rated teams in 2015 Cricket World Cup to qualify for the quarterfinals. In 2015, they white-washed Pakistan and clinched the series by 3-0 and in another major achievement they won a series against India by 2-1 and in the same year they beat South Africa 2–1 in an ODI series and cemented their spot in Champions Trophy 2017. Traditional sports like Athletics, Swimming, Ha-du-du, Boli Khela, Lathi Khela are mostly played in the rural areas while foreign sports like hockey, volleyball, handball, golf etc. are more popular among the urban folks. The National Sports Council (NSC) is the governing body to control all the sports federations and councils in the country and is responsible to the ministry of youth and sports. There are a total of 42 different sports federations affiliated with the NSC. Bangladesh Games is the largest domestic multi-sport tournament in the country where athletes and sports teams from all the districts participate.
The Aga Khan Gold Cup was played in Dhaka, Bangladesh which invited top club sides from leading football playing nations of Asia to compete. Many renowned football pundits regard this competition as a predecessor of AFC Champions League, since it was the first organized international competition that involved club teams around Asia. During the late 1950s and early 1980s, it was a prestigious tournament among Asian clubs.
Syed Abdus Samad was a British Indian football player from Bengal. Dubbed Football Jadukor, he played for India national football team in 1924 and captained it in 1926. He played as a forward. Samad's football career lasted from 1915–1938. Government of Bangladesh launched a postage stamp series in his memory.
