From Asia Cup triumph to Gold in SA Games - Women bringing glory for Bangladesh

It's crucial to first make the case that this isn't a contest between Bangladesh's male and female athletes. This is merely a representation of "Bangladesh" athletes who have made us proud by excelling in their particular sports and bringing home the gold.

Nevertheless, it just so happens that the ladies of the nation have returned home with more victories than the males. This doesn't make us doubt the successes—or lack thereof—of the guys; rather, it makes us happy that Bangladeshi women do occasionally provide us with euphoria.

Asia Cup Victory (2018)

This was a trophy that always seemed to elude the grasp of Bangladesh teams. That was until 2018 when, in the final delivery of the final, needing two to win, Jahanara Alam gently tapped the ball towards the legside and dove home to complete the second run and in the process, handed Bangladesh their maiden Asia cup title. This was a feat that the 'Tigers' were chasing for 6 six years by then, and still are chasing to this day but when the Tigresses managed to topple a strong Indian team in the final, it was a joy that was celebrated by each and every Bangladeshi.

Mabia Akter (2016 and 2019)

Weightlifter Mabia Akter is another athlete who has brought home multiple accolades. Born in Madaripur in 1999, the 22-year-old has represented Bangladesh in quite a few competitions. At the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati, she won the gold medal in the women's 63 kg weight division. At the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship in Pune, India in October 2015, she also won a gold in the youth division and two silvers in the senior and junior divisions. She won the gold medal by squatting 176 kg in total.

Thereafter in 2019, at the South Asian Games in Pokhara, Mabia won the gold medal in the women's 76-kg weightlifting category. On her route to defeating her Sri Lankan opponent, she lifted 185 kg, including 80 kg in the snatch and 105 kg in the clean and jerk.

Diya Siddique

At the 2021 Archery World Cup, when Bangladesh came in second to the Netherlands in the mixed recurve team category, Bangladeshi archer Diya Siddique and teammate Ruman Shana won a silver medal on May 23, 2021. Despite losing the competition 5-1, Bangladesh provided their best effort in the Archery World Championship. Additionally, it was the first time Bangladesh had reached the Archery World Cup final.

Age-level Asian dominance 

One aspect that always eluded Bangladeshi athletes was consistency over a longer period of time but a certain batch of Bangladeshi footballers broke that stereotype.

It all started off in 2017 in the inaugural under-15 SAFF Championships which was hosted by Bangladesh. Bangladesh won the trophy beating India in the final. The likes of Monika Chakma and  Maria Manda caught our glimpses for the first time in that tournament. Shamsunnahar just like two nights ago, scored in the final; a habit that she probably formulated from this 2017 final.

They went on to win the under-18 championships as well and followed it with probably the biggest win in age level when they won the under -19 SAFF Championships in December last year. Maria Manda was an important figure in the journey.