New York-based boxer Zinnat Ferdous got a bye in the first-round in 50kg weight category of the Asian Games, which officially got underway in Hangzhou yesterday.

Though football and cricket already got underway four days before, the curtain of the 19th Asian Games opens tonight with a lot more to offer than just a visual spectacle as hosts China look to surprise the world with a high-tech showcase of its historical and cultural attractions.

Following two unsuccessful visits since its Asian Games debut in 1978, Bangladesh won its first medal in 1986. It was boxer Mosharraf Hossain who opened the mark, bagging a bronze, and Bangladesh went on to win at least one medal in each of the next seven editions until 2014, with kabaddi and cricket accounting for all 11 medals.

Federer will be present at this year's edition in Vancouver where a celebration is planned on Friday to mark the first anniversary of his final competitive match.

The Bangladesh contingent was officially been received on Wednesday afternoon at the Hangzhou Asian Games Athletes Village by a colourful welcome ceremony that reflected the culture of China.

New York-based boxer Zinnat Ferdous is the ninth expatriate athlete set to represent Bangladesh She will fight in the 50kg weight category in the Hangzhou Asian Games, scheduled to get underway on September 23. Zinnat shared her desire to win a medal for Bangladesh at the continental multi-sport event and her experiences of becoming a boxer in a conversation with The Daily Star's Anisur Rahman on Wednesday.

"I believe that numbers are numbers and statistics are statistics. In that sense, I think he (Djokovic) has better numbers than mine and that is indisputable," Nadal said in an interview with AS published on Wednesday

Dhaka University (DU) has won the inter-university chess championship for the third consecutive time this year

Hong Kong is one of the smaller Asian Games teams by population, but when it comes to fencing the city is a regional heavyweight with ambitious medal hopes.

"I said that possibly 2024 was my last year, I maintain that, but I can not confirm it 100 percent because I do not know," Nadal told Movistar.

Players will battle in EA Sports FC, PUBG Mobile, Arena of Valor, Dota 2, League of Legends, Dream Three Kingdoms 2 and Street Fighter V.

North Korean athletes have travelled to China for the Asian Games, state media said, signalling an end to the country's more than three-year isolation from global multisport competitions.

Ranjit Chandra Das, a former basketball player turned coach and an executive member of Bangladesh Basketball Federation as well as South Asian Basketball Association, has been nominated as a FIBA Match Commissioner for 2023-2025, said a press release.

The world number one eased to a 6-3, 6-4 success to give his country an unassailable 2-0 lead in Valencia after Laslo Djere's earlier 6-4, 6-4 win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas

The High Court has questioned the legality of the chief election commissioner’s notification of a 28-member executive committee of the Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF).

Alcaraz pulled out of the final group stage after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open semi-finals, saying he needed a rest.

North Koreans are listed on the Games' website for accredited media to compete in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in sports.

Romania's former world number one Simona Halep said on Tuesday that she would appeal to sport's highest court against the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) decision to ban her for four years after two separate anti-doping rule violations.

Mohammad Shamsuzzaman Arafat completed the Ironman World Championship in Nice with the best timing amongst Bangladeshi participants on Sunday.

Novak Djokovic, who won his 24th Grand Slam title on Sunday, will dominate men's tennis for years because younger players have yet to reach his level, according to Andy Murray.