The New Nation - Internet Edition

Bangladesh football team arrives in Kuala Lumpur

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh national football team, led by veteran medio Motiur Rahman Munna, arrived in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur Tuesday morning to participate in the Merdeka Cup Football Tournament slated for October 15-25.

Bangladesh has been placed in strong Group B with Mozambique, Myanmar, Vietnam, while Group A comprises Sierra Leone, Nepal, Afghanistan and hosts Malaysia.

Bangladesh will start their Merdeka Cup campaign taking on top seed Mozambique on Thursday (Oct 16) at the Stadium Shah Alam. In the remaining group matches, Bangladesh will play Myanmar on Oct 18 and Vietnam on Oct 20 at the same venue.

Bangladesh team made their practice at the game venue Stadium Shah Alam Tuesday afternoon. All the players of Bangladesh are fully fit, according to a telephonic message received by the BFF.

In the last year's Merdeka Cup, Bangladesh lost all their three matches against Singapore, Indonesia and Zimbabwe.

Bangladesh team comprises 20 booters and seven officials.

Bangladesh Team - Aminul, Biplob, Hasan Al Mamun, Rajani, Sujon (vice-captain), Shuvro, Wali Faisal, Nazrul, Ariful, Saikat, Arman Aziz, Prantosh, Sharif, Motiur Munna (captain), Abul, Mamun, Zahid, Emily, Robin and Enamul.

Officials - Badal Roy, Shawkat Ali Khan Jahangir, Mokbul Hossain, Shafiqul Islam Manik (coach), Golam Rabbani Chhotan (assistant coach), Dr Mahfuzullah Chisty (physio) and Mohammad Mohsin (coaching staff).

Del Bosque keeps Spanish bandwagon rolling

Reuters, Madrid

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque's skilful handling of Luis Aragones's Euro 2008 winning side sees them continuing to build on their summer success as they head into a clash with their closest rivals Belgium on Wednesday.

The European champions top qualifying Group Five having won all three of their opening matches without conceding a goal, and lead Belgium and Turkey by two points.

Former Real Madrid boss Del Bosque may come across as a kindly grandfather figure, in contrast to his more cantankerous predecessor, but his man-management skills are an important factor in the side continuing to sweep all before them.

There has been no resting on laurels in the wins over Bosnia, Armenia and Estonia.

Barring odd lapses in concentration, like midway through the second half of Saturday's 3-0 victory in Estonia when the hosts almost scored twice, Del Bosque has managed to keep the side hungry, the passing quick, and the work rate high.

"Spain have a winning momentum and we have to make the most of it to build up the best advantage we can in the group," the 57-year-old said after the victory in Tallinn.

Goalkeeper Iker Casillas kept another clean sheet helping Spain set a new national record of just over 700 minutes without conceding a goal, bettering the previous best of 691 minutes achieved in 1992-3.

The side have gone 26 matches unbeaten and few changes are likely for the match in Brussels, though Marcos Senna could return to replace Xabi Alonso in the midfield holding role.

UNBEATEN BELGIUM

Unbeaten Belgium are set to make at least one change from the side which defeated Armenia 2-0 on Saturday with Ajax defender Thomas Vermaelen expected to return in place of Axel Witsel, who is likely to drop back to the bench.

Belgian coach Rene Vandereycken left Vermaelen out of the team against Armenia to avoid him getting suspended for the Spanish encounter after he picked up a yellow card in their previous match against Turkey.

"Spain is a whole other game. There will be certain changes carried out. Firstly because this is a different, tougher, more attacking opponent and the secondly because some players won't manage two games at this level in four days." Vandereycken said.

Probable teams:

Belgium: Stijn Stijnen; Timmy Simons, Vincent Kompany, Guillaume Gillet, Jelle van Damme, Thomas Vermaelen; Steven Defour, Jan Vertonghen, Marouane Fellaini, Moussa Dembele; Wesley Sonck.

Spain: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Juanito, Joan Capdevila; Santi Cazorla, Xavi, Marcos Senna or Xabi Alonso, Andres Iniesta; David Villa, Fernando Torres.

Familiar story unfolds in South America

Reuters, Buenos Aires

A familiar story is unfolding in South America where Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil already look set to qualify for the World Cup leaving Uruguay, Ecuador, Chile and Colombia to fight for the remaining places.

The region's qualifying competition is using the same system as for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, with even the fixture list unchanged, and is threatening to produce a similar result for the third time in a row.

On both occasions, Argentina, Brazil Paraguay and Ecuador have taken the four direct places while Uruguay have finished fifth, edging out Colombia each time, to earn a playoff against a side from another confederation.

The marathon campaign, in which the 10 teams play each other twice in a single group, reached the halfway mark on Sunday with only Chile, who are fourth, threatening to alter the routine.

Leaders Paraguay, who have won six and drawn two of their nine matches, have an excellent chance to continue their progress towards the 2010 finals in South Africa when they host table-propping Peru in Asuncion on Wednesday.

Paraguay, one of the few teams who have managed to keep almost the same line-up throughout, have no injuries or suspensions apart from striker Roque Santa Cruz.

Nolberto Solano returns for Peru, who were once one of the continent's most attractive sides but have not qualified since 1982 and, with only seven points, already appear to be out of the running with nine matches to play.

Brazil, four points behind Paraguay on 16 points, are at home to a Colombian side who have lost their last three games without scoring, have managed only four goals all told and have dropped to seventh with 10 points. Brazil host the Colombians in Rio de Janeiro, where they were held to a goalless draw by Bolivia a month ago.

KAKA RETURN

But the return of Kaka after an 11-month absence has given Brazil an instant boost as he scored in their 4-0 win in Venezuela on Sunday.

Argentina, level on points with Brazil, visit a Chilean team who are led by their former coach Marcelo Bielsa and have lost two of their three first-choice defenders through suspension.

Chile, who have 13 points, had Ismael Fuentes and Gonzalo Jara both sent off in Sunday's 2-0 defeat in Ecuador while midfielder Roberto Cereceda and forward Alexis Sanchez each picked up a yellow card.

"We have a consolidated group which allows us to imagine that the ones who come in will maintain the level of efficiency of those who have been playing," said Bielsa.

Ecuador, back in the race with 12 points after Sunday's win, visit Venezuela, who made a bright start to their campaign but have taken only one point in their last five games since Cesar Farias replaced Richard Paez as coach.

Uruguay, who have 12 points after losing to Argentina on Saturday, face Bolivia in La Paz 3,600 metres above sea level in the only match to be played on Tuesday.

Hussey's century against India takes him back to top of rankings

AP, Dubai

Michael Hussey has regained his spot at the top of the ICC batting rankings after scoring 146 last week in the drawn opening test against India.

Hussey rose from third Tuesday to move above Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies. Ricky Ponting remained fourth despite scoring his first test century in India.

Australia's Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke and India's Rahul Dravid each slipped two places in the rankings. Hayden is down to ninth, Clarke 15th and Dravid 18th.

Among the bowlers, Zaheer Khan, who took 5-96 in Australia's first innings at Bangalore, moved up seven places to 11th. Teammate Anil Kumble, who didn't take a wicket in his 51 overs in the match, slipped from 10th to 18th.

The top three remain Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan, Australia's Stuart Clark and Dale Steyn of South Africa.

Pressure on Eriksson as Mexico visit Canada

Reuters, Buenos Aires

Mexico visit Canada for a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday with the pressure firmly on coach Sven-Goran Eriksson after their stunning loss to Jamaica.

The Mexican media reacted furiously to Saturday's defeat which gave more ammunition to critics who said the former England coach, appointed in June, was not ready for the tough conditions he would face in the Caribbean and Central America.

A win in Edmonton will be enough to send Mexico into next year's final stage of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, but failure could mean their fate being decided in Honduras next month.

"We have still got two games to play and we will have to search for qualification in Canada," said defender Rafael Marquez, who will not play after picking up a second yellow card.

Mexico and Honduras are level on nine points at the top of Group Two with Jamaica in third place on four points. The top two progress to the final stage of the marathon contest.

Canada, who have one point and are eliminated, will be playing for pride.

Honduras will send both themselves and Mexico through if they beat Jamaica in Kingston on Wednesday, but the Reggae Boyz, under interim coach Theodore Whitmore, are buoyed by Saturday's shock win and also face Canada at home in November.

El Salvador will follow Costa Rica through from Group Three if they draw with or beat Suriname in San Salvador.

Costa Rica, who have taken a maximum 12 points and guaranteed their place by winning in Suriname on Saturday, host Haiti in the other match.

In Group One, Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala remain neck and neck in their battle to join the United States, who are already through.

Both teams have five points from four games after drawing with each other home and away.

Rajin recalled for Test squad

bdnews, Chittagong

Middle order batsman Rajin Saleh has staged a comeback in the Bangladesh Test fold, after a year away, as national selectors announced a 13-member squad on Tuesday for the two-Test series against visitors New Zealand.

The first Test is scheduled for Oct 17-21 in Chittagong, while the capital's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium will host the second and final test from Oct 25.

Of the 14-member one-day squad, Mahmudullah and Imrul Kayes were dropped, while Rajin, who played his last Test against Sri Lanka in July 2007, was included in the side.

Rajin, who struck 135 runs for Sylhet in the National Cricket League four-dayer opener on Sunday, has scored 1,115 runs in 16 Test innings with an average of 27.19 runs.

Despite the dropped Mahmudullah and Kayes, the Test squad still has two new faces in all-rounder Nayeem Islam and pacer Mahbubul Alam Robin.

Nayeem made his ODI debut against New Zealand, while Robin has yet to play in either ODI or Test.

Squad: Tamim Iqbal, Junaed Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Shakib Al Hasan, Nayeem Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim, Rajin Saleh, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Mashrafee Bin Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain and Mahbubul Alam Robin.

Fayema Akhter win bronze in Commonwealth Youth Games

UNB, Dhaka

Fayema Akhter of Bangladesh won Bronze Medal in the 53KG weight category of the weightlifting event in the 3rd Commonwealth Youth Games in the Indian town of Pune on Tuesday.

Earlier, on Monday, Tripti Dutta of Bangladesh finished 5th in the Women's 10 Air Rifles shooting scoring 384.

Open Table Tennis: Competition begins

Sports Reporter

The National Lubricants Open Table Tennis Competition began yesterday at the Engineers Recreation Centre. Secretary General of Bangladesh Olympic Association Engineer Kutubuddin Ahmed formally opened the table tennis meet as the chief guest.

A total of 192 participants are taking paet in the five-day long table tennis competition.

The events of the tournament are : Men's singles, women's singles, team event (men), team event (women ), boys' singles (undr-16) and engineers' singles.

The competition comes to end on October 18.

Rahmatganj MFS earn 3-1 victory over Khulna Abahani

UNB, Dhaka

Rahmatganj MFS came from behind to earn a 3-1 goals victory over Khulna Abahani KC in the lone CityCell B League match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here on Tuesday.

Tariqul scored first for Khulna Abahani in the 40th minute, while Idrice leveled the margin for old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj in the 73rd minute.

Idrice again put Rahmatganj ahead in the 81st minute scoring his 2nd goal while Kabir widened the Rahmatganj margin with a goal just one minute before the final whistle.

Bolelli injury hands Murray win

BBC Online

Andy Murray progressed to the third round of the Madrid Masters after his Italian opponent Simone Bolelli retired hurt early in the second set.

Bolelli, who had lost the first set 6-0 in under 30 minutes, appeared to sustain a shoulder injury when he attempted a smash shot to hold at 0-1.

The world number 43 then retired when 2-1 down in the second.