Durbachara's daring girls conquer national stage

Detailed summary

Career paths in services teams like the Bangladesh Army are opening up, with players earning coveted spots at BKSP and direct call-ups to the national squad.

Stepping onto the school field in Durbachara on a weekday afternoon, roughly 20 kilometres from Kushtia town, sounds arrive before sights: a chorus of joyful chatter ringing with the confidence of world-beaters.

Here in Ujangram Union in the country’s western region, after-school practice is no longer a mere pastime. For the girls of Durbachara Bohumukhi High School, they play to win everything in their path.

And they keep winning. For two consecutive years, students from this remote village school have claimed the crown as national handball champions.

The ripple effects have transformed the district. Teachers from prominent town colleges now queue up at school gates, eager to scout these trailblazers for higher secondary programmes. Career paths in services teams like the Bangladesh Army are opening up, with players earning coveted spots at BKSP and direct call-ups to the national squad.

The path to glory proved steep. When sports teacher Saidul Islam joined around 2022–23, his initial goal focused on a boys' team. When that stalled, a wider net caught 40 girls. Today, 16 form the bedrock of a fierce squad.

"Resistance came from everywhere," Saidul recalls. Yet, with a headmaster standing "like a shield," barriers tumbled down.

Headmaster Billal Hossain notes the shift: "People viewed sports as a distraction." Once national titles followed, "public perception flipped overnight."

Financial constraints proved daunting as buying kits out of limited school funds required scavenging support from local leaders and the administration. Behind the scenes, training was punishing. "We skipped every holiday through Ramadan, Eid, and Puja," Saidul notes. "The girls worked day and night."

That grit paid off at the 53rd Summer Handball where Durbachara tore through the four-team competition without dropping a game, scoring 75 goals and conceding only five along the way.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Daily Star. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.