Dhaka: Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today joined the grand finale of the national level Notun Kuri Sports 2025-26, a nationwide sporting event for adolescents organised with the theme, ‘Krira Hole Pesha, Paribar Pabe Bharosha (if sports becomes a profession, family will find security)’.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Prime Minister arrived at the Bangladesh Army Stadium at 4:00 pm, where thousands of young spectators greeted him with thunderous applause following the announcement of his arrival. Upon entering, Tarique Rahman waved to the children and young athletes before directly engaging with the players to exchange greetings.
He toured the ground, interacting warmly with students seated in the galleries and encouraged them to pursue sports. More than 8,000 students present at the venue cheered enthusiastically during his interaction with the young participants. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed and State Minister for Youth and Sports Md Aminul Haque.
Th
e Notun Kuri Sports, supervised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, commenced on May 2 with the aim of discovering hidden sporting talents among boys and girls aged between 12 and 14 at grassroots levels and encouraging regular participation in sports. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated the programme at the Sylhet District Stadium on that day.
According to the organisers, approximately 170,000 young athletes from districts and upazilas across the country participated in the regional phase of the competition, which included eight sporting disciplines. The national-level events were later held at different venues in the capital. This year’s edition featured football, cricket, kabaddi, athletics, badminton, chess, swimming, and martial arts. Top performers advanced to the national phase.
The closing ceremony at the Bangladesh Army Stadium featured the boys’ and girls’ football finals along with the boys’ and girls’ 100-metre sprint events. In the boys’ football final, held at 3:00 pm, Sylhet Region def
eated Mymensingh Region 2-0, followed by the girls’ football final.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to distribute trophies and prizes among the winners at the award ceremony beginning at 5 pm.