Rituparna Chakma and her Rajshahi Stars teammates strengthened their bid for the women’s football league crown with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Farashganj in what many described as an unofficial final at Kamalapur Stadium on Saturday.
The decisive moment came in the first half when Alpi Akhter found the net, securing all three points for Rajshahi in a tense, high-quality contest between two sides packed with national team players.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔,” 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆.”
Rituparna Chakma and Farashganj Stars Battle in Tight Contest
The result lifted Rajshahi Stars to the top of the table with 21 points, level with Bangladesh Army, who have played one more match. Farashganj now sits third on 18 points, losing momentum after a strong winning run.
Farashganj forward Shamsunnahar Junior, who had scored in each of her previous six matches and collected five straight player-of-the-match awards, was kept quiet this time as Rajshahi’s defense stood firm.
Both teams showcased the depth of Bangladesh’s women’s football talent, with Rajshahi featuring stars like Rituparna Chakma and captain Afida Khandaker, while Farashganj lined up with Maria Manda, Shamsunnahar (two players), Monika, and Tohura Khatun.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆,” 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉.”
The victory puts Rajshahi Stars in a commanding position as the league enters its decisive phase, with the championship now firmly within reach.
