Bangladesh’s first national female squash tournament concludes at IUB

The two-day ‘IUB Presents 1st Bangladesh Female Squash Tournament 2024’ concluded at the newly-built squash court of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) on Thursday, says a media statement.

Organised with the support of the Bangladesh Squash Rackets Federation, 60 girls from various districts participated in the tournament. Among them, 10 came from the underprivileged areas of Gopalganj and Khagrachari districts. They competed in the tournament, which was divided into four categories: under 9, 11, 13, 15 and open.

On Thursday, the finals and the prize distribution ceremony of the competition were held at the IUB Squash Court.

Prizes were distributed among the winners by IUB Board of Trustees Chairman Didar A Husain, Trustee A Quaiyum Khan, Vice Chancellor Tanweer Hasan, PhD, Prothom Alo’s Chief Sports Editor Utpal Shuvro, and Bangladesh Squash Rackets Federation Secretary General Brig Gen G M Quamrul Islam (Retd).

The international standard squash court at IUB was inaugurated on January 31, 2024.

Additionally, during the ongoing Spring 2024 semester, three young emerging squash players have been admitted to the undergraduate programme at IUB with a 100 per cent scholarship. Among them, Riyajul Zannat Urdho has already represented the Bangladesh national squash team.

Urdho became the runner-up in the open category of the recently concluded tournament.

Vice Chancellor Tanweer Hasan said, "Squash is going to be included in the Olympics for the first time in 2028. We hope that the majority of players on the Bangladesh squash team will be from the IUB, particularly in the women's category.

The construction of a squash court at IUB, admitting several young players with full scholarships and ensuring their care and best possible preparation by hiring professional coaches have all been done to achieve this goal."