PHOTO: COLLECTED

Ritu Porna Chakma, the dazzling star of the Bangladesh women’s football team, proudly holds both the Sports Person of the Year 2024 and Fans’ Favourite Athlete trophies at the City Group–Prothom Alo Sports Awards, held at a hotel in the capital yesterday. “We want to take Bangladesh beyond Asia and onto the global stage,” Ritu declared with determination. In other awards, Ritu’s teammate Tohura Khatun was named Best Female Athlete, chess prodigy Manon Reza Neer claimed Best Emerging Sportsperson, the runners-up titles went to Bangladesh men’s cricket stars Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and the Lifetime Achievement Award glittered in the hands of the nation’s sprinting legend Mosharraf Hossain Shamim.