Phones vanish from Handball court

With a major four-nation tournament set to begin on Sunday, two mobile phones belonging to the women's handball coaches were stolen in broad daylight during a practice session in Dhaka just the day before.

Foreign head coach Ana Alonso Fragua and local coach Dalia Akter were running a busy training session at the Captain M Mansur Ali Stadium in Paltan on Saturday afternoon when the incident occurred. Practice began at 2:00pm, and both coaches had left their phones resting side by side on a table right next to the court to focus on the players.

By 2:45pm, Akter realised the phones had completely vanished. Akter lost an iPhone 17 Pro Max, while Alonso Fragua’s stolen device also contained her credit card.

The timing is particularly embarrassing for the organisers, as the same stadium is hosting the prestigious Begum Khaleda Zia IHF Nations Trophy. Having a foreign head coach targeted just 24 hours before a major four-country international event sends out a very poor message about venue security.

Handball federation officials are now working frantically to recover the stolen items. Jahangir Hossain, an executive member of the Bangladesh Handball Federation, confirmed that local authorities have stepped in.

"The phones are being searched for, but we haven't found them yet," Hossain said. "We have already filed a general diary at the Paltan police station, and they are on it now."

Hossain confirmed they had successfully spotted the suspect.

"In the CCTV footage, we have identified a boy as the thief," Hossain added. "He ran right through the middle of the field to get inside. He ran in, grabbed the phones, and then sprinted straight back out through the stadium gate."