Selim speechless after reaching quarters

Boxer Selim Hossain stormed into the quarterfinal of the U-57kg category in Asian Games after he knocked down Asror Vokhidov in the second round of the pre-quarterfinals at Hangzhou Gymnasium yesterday.

The first round went against Selim's favour but the 31-year-old boxer bounced back heavily and knocked down his Tajik opponent in the final minute of three-minute second round.

The referee stopped the competition after Vokhidov suffered a cut above his eye. Selim, as a result, was declared winner.

"I can't express my feeling in words, especially after posting back-to-back wins in this big tournament," said Selim.

Sprinter Imranur underperforms

Imranur Rahman could not become Bangladesh's first sprinter to qualify for the final of 100m sprint in the Asian Games after he finished sixth out of eight athletes in the first semifinals of the event at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Stadium yesterday.

The England-based sprinter finished overall 19th out of 24 with a time of 10.42 seconds, 00.23 seconds more than the sprinter who sealed the eighth and last place to advance in the final.

"I underperformed and that's why I could not progress to the finals," said Imranur after completing his run.

Hockey tastes second win

Bangladesh hockey team yesterday registered back-to-back victories in Asian Games with a 4-2 win over Uzbekistan in a pulsating Pool A fixture at Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium.

Bangladesh, who came into the match on the back of a morale-boosting 7-3 win over Singapore after two defeats against Japan and Pakistan, had twice suffered equalisers but did not look back after netting the third goal in the 42nd minute, courtesy of Ashraful Islam who scored a brace.

Siddiqur improves position

Country's ace golfer Siddiqur Rahman somewhat bounced back in the Asian Games by playing two-under-par 70 in the third round of the individual golf event at West Lake International Golf Course yesterday.

The 38-year-old golfer, who started with the day at the 25th position, occupied the 21st place at day's end while compatriot Jamal Hossain stayed at 39th.

Weightlifter Smrity impresses

Smrity Akter finished top among four weightlifters in her Group B of 55kg category after clearing a total of 160 kg.

Smrity matched her career-best performance (72kg) in Snatch but failed to keep the momentum in Clear and Jerk.

"I am both happy and unhappy because I could not put my best," Smrity said.

Shooters off target again

Bangladesh wrapped up their shooting campaign in Asian Games with another dismal performance as the mixed pistol team finished 14th out of 19 teams yesterday. Shakil Ahmed (280) and Amjad Anila (282) together scored 562, which was 11 points less than Pakistan who qualified for the bronze-decider event as the sixth and final team.