Manohar Aich: The first Indian to become Mr. Universe

On March 17, 1912, Manohar Aich was born at Dhamti, a remote village in Comilla district of undivided Bengal. From childhood, he had an infinite interest in wrestling and weightlifting. To strengthen his body, he joined Ruplal Byayam Samiti at a young age. Then, while staying in Dhaka, he showed acrobatic performance in shows titled Physique and Magic with P. C. Sorcar and became a quite well-known face among local people. This legendary bodybuilder breathed his last at the age of 104 on June 5, 2016. 

 

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Physical fitness was the sole passion of his life. He received a certificate of appreciation from the then British for his envious physique. But he never compromised when it comes to patriotism. Slapping a British officer, he was once imprisoned. But the English were surprised to see him doing exercise for hours in jail. Seeing his perseverance, they also arranged a special diet for him. 

In 1950, at the age of 37, he won the Mr. Hercules title. He was only 4 feet 11 inches tall. For this reason, he is also known as Pocket Hercules. Though he achieved second place in the Mr. Universe competition the following year, he did not have to wait long to get the top position. In 1952, he won the Mr. Universe title. Then in 1955 and 1960, in the Mr. Universe competition, he won third and fourth place respectively. He won three gold medals in the bodybuilding category at the Asian Games held in 1951 (New Delhi), in 1954 (Manila) and in 1958 (Tokyo). Since 1960, he had been attending various bodybuilding demonstration shows. His last exhibition was in 2003 at the age of 90.  

He had a very eventful career as a bodybuilder. Control over muscle, demonstration of his physical prowess traveling around the world, 300 KM squat- Manohar Aich, who is glorified with various achievements, participated in various bodybuilding exhibitions till his last breath. His fitness motivates the young generation. His death is a big blow to the sports lovers. Manohar Aich passed away, but the trend he started will not die away in the minds of his countrymen. We pay our last respect to pocket Hercules. 

Those who suffer from inferiority complex due to their short height can take inspiration from Manohar Aich. He is one of the few people who have shown that short height is not an obstacle to fulfill your dream. If you have firm determination and diligence, you will reach your goal sooner or later. I will tell you to come out of your depression and start working hard so that you can set an example for other people. 

Bangladeshi cricketers will donate BDT 25 lakh for fight against coronavirus

Players of the Bangladesh cricket team have come forward to help the government at this crisis moment. A total of 27 cricketers have decided to donate 50 percent of their one month’s salary so that government can use this money to fight against the deadly coronavirus. The amount of donation is likely to be around BDT 25 lakh after removing the tax. Tamim Iqbal, the recently appointed ODI captain, is the person from whom this idea has come. His initiative has become successful to bring a number of senior and new players under one roof. 

Donation provided by the cricketers might be very little in amount, but this effort will encourage others to extend their hand at this time of distress. We should not forget those lines of the poem titled “Little Things”. The lines are-

                    “Little drops of water,
                     Little grains of sand,
                     Make the mighty ocean
                     And the pleasant land.”

If our little contributions are brought together, it will be of great use to the treatment of Covid-19 infected people or to give relief to the day laborers who cannot go outside to buy their daily food amid lockdown. Following the philanthropic activity of the cricketers, if celebrities from other sectors come ahead to help the poor people then we can win this battle against coronavirus. 

Ottis Gibson is the new bowling coach of the Bangladesh cricket team

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) named Ottis Gibson as the new bowling coach of the national cricket team. The former West Indies fast bowler signed a two-year contract with the cricket board. The new bowling coach started doing his job by joining the team for the Pakistan tour in January this year. If everything goes accordingly then he will be seen training the local bowlers till 2022. Earlier, South Africa’s Charl Langeveldt was the bowling coach of the Bangladesh cricket team. Since his resignation in December 2019, the position was vacant.

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Ottis Gibson in his short career, which spanned almost four years from 1995 to 1999, played 2 Tests and 15 ODIs and claimed 3 and 34 wickets respectively. In 2007, he started his coaching career with the England cricket team. The Barbadian was the bowling coach of the England cricket team twice and the head coach of the West Indies. In the last edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), he worked as the head coach of the Cumilla Warriors, and as a result, he got the opportunity to observe Bangladesh cricket from close.

There is no doubt that the inclusion of Ottis Gibson will increase the strength of the coaching team. His experience will help improve the skills of the local bowlers.