BSWA awards distributed

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Bangladesh Sports Writers' Association (BSWA) distributed its sports awards for three years-2005, 2006 and 2007- at a function at the hall room of National Sports Council (NSC) Tower in Dhaka Wednesday, reports UNB.
Chairman of Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) Prof Mozaffar Ahmad was the chief guest at the function and handed over the awards to the recipients.
BSWA president Sarwar Hossain and general secretary Rafiqul Islam, among others, were present on the occasion.
BSWA named 32 sportsmen, organisers, referees, umpires, sports and sponsoring organisations for the awards in recognition of their contributions to sports in the last three years.
It named national cricket team captain Mohammad Ashraful as the `sportsman of the year' for 2005, vice captain of national cricket team Mashrafe Bin Mortaza for 2006 and chess talent Abdullah Al Rakib for 2007.
Sports should be nurtured in a planned way, Prof Mozaffar said and stressed the need for government and private support to restore the popularity of the local games.
BSWA award winners for 2005: Mohammad Sujon (football), Javed Omar Belim (cricket), Russell Mahmud Jimmy (hockey), Enamul Haque Jr (cricket), Mollah Sabira Sultana (weightlifting), Tayeb Hasan Shamsuzzaman Babu (football referee), Nurul Alam Chowdhury (organiser), Sirajul Islam Bachchu (organiser), Mousumi Industries Ltd (sponsor), Narayanganj DSA (active association) and Mohammad Ashraful (sportsman of the year).
Award winners for 2006: Arif Khan Joy (football), Shahriar Nafees (cricket), Russell Khan Bappi (hockey), Shahjahan Ali Ronny (swimming), Mizanur Rahman (taekwondo), Siddiqur Rahman (golf), Reefat Bin Sattar (chess), Zahid Hasan Emily (football), Laboni Akhter Jui (swimming), Nadir Shah (cricket umpire), Kutub Uddin Ahmed (organiser), Ispahani Ltd (sponsor), Kazi Alamgir (special award) and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (sportsman of the year).
Award winners for 2007: Shakib Al Hasan (cricket), Ziaur Rahman (kabaddi), Shafiqur Rahman Munna (organiser), Haji Abdus Sattar (special award), Rajshahi DSA (active association), United Insurance Co Ltd (sponsor) and Abdullah Al Rakib (sportsman of the year).