Bangladesh made history at the third Asian Youth Games held in Bahrain by securing its second medal of the tournament. Following the success of the girls’ team, the Under-18 boys’ kabaddi team also won the bronze medal, marking a significant achievement for the country.
In the bronze medal match held at the Eissa Sports City, Bangladesh’s boys’ kabaddi team convincingly defeated the hosts Bahrain by a large margin of 106-17 points to secure the bronze. The match was attended by Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Bahrain, Mohammad Rais Hasan Sarwar, who was present to support and encourage the players.
Earlier in the tournament, Bangladesh’s Under-18 girls’ kabaddi team had won the first medal for the country by beating Sri Lanka to claim the bronze. With this boys’ victory, Bangladesh has now won two bronze medals at the current Asian Youth Games, both coming from kabaddi.
The tournament started on a challenging note for the Bangladeshi representatives. The boys’ team lost their opening match to a strong Indian side. However, they bounced back impressively by defeating Iran in the second match. They secured a second consecutive win against Sri Lanka but narrowly lost to Thailand, which unfortunately knocked them out of the race for the final.
Despite this setback, the team bounced back to win their last two matches against Pakistan and Bahrain, ensuring their place on the podium.
It is worth noting that Bangladesh had participated in the previous two editions of the Asian Youth Games but had not won any medals until now. This year’s simultaneous success of both the boys’ and girls’ kabaddi teams has written a new chapter in Bangladesh’s sporting history.