Ritu makes national record, gymnasts fall short in medal quest

Despite being seventh in the finals, Ritu Akhtar had something to cherish about as she made a national record in the Women’s high jump discipline in the Islamic Solidarity Games 2022 in Konya on Friday.

Ritu’s jump recorded at 1.73m, while her compatriot Umme Hafsa Rumky’s 1.70m jump placed her at ninth amongst 11 contenders.

After recording a 1.65m jump in her first attempt, Ritu managed to make gradual improvements as she followed it up with a 1.70m jump in her second attempt and finally managing 1.73m in her third attempt.

Safina Sadullaeva of Uzbekistan won gold as she recorded 1.97m, the highest in the discipline.

After raising hopes for Bangladesh’s first medal in this fifth edition of the ISG 2022, gymnasts Ali Kader Haque and Abu Saeed Rafi fell short in the vaulting table discipline of the Men’s artistic gymnastics.

In the finals, Ali stood fifth amongst eight participants after scoring 12.975, and Rafi managed 12.350 placing him at sixth. Ali and Rafi qualified for the finals on Wednesday after they scored 12.950 and 12.175 respectively.

Bangladesh Women’s handball team ended their campaign winning 33-19 against Afghanistan as they finished seventh. They were winless in their first three group-stage games but managed to end their campaign on a high. The win came after they were beaten 45-25 by Senegal in their third game.

The table tennis team had to see the other side of the coin on Wednesday. After qualifying for the quarter-finals by beating the Maldives in 3-2 sets, the Bangladesh exited the competition as they lost in 3-0 sets to Yemen in the quarters.