Dead body of Bangladeshi umpire in hotel room in India

Ismail Najeeb Russell, one of the country's best badminton umpires, died yesterday while conducting an international badminton competition in Guwahati, India. The 52-year-old umpire was also on the panel of the World Badminton Federation.

His death was confirmed by former national badminton champion Jobaidur Rahman Rana. Russell died in the hotel room, said the former general secretary of the Badminton Federation, 'an international series was going on in Guwahati, India. Russell, being the World Badminton Panel umpire, went there to officiate the match. Today was his match. When he was not coming to the court, the organizers went to the hotel. They went and found the door closed. Then the door was broken as it did not open even after knocking. Then they saw that Russell was gone.'

Meanwhile, the country's federations, including badminton, are mourning the death of Russell. Former national badminton champion Kamrun Nahar Dana wrote on his Facebook page, 'Russell you must have realized that you don't have time. So you have repeatedly reminded us all of our respective responsibilities at the time of your death. Stay well Russell. May your trained umpires become international umpires and brighten the face of Bangladesh like you.

Russell is a well-known face in Badminton in Bangladesh. Apart from umpiring, he is also a member of the current executive committee of the federation. He studied a lot about badminton. He has umpired in major tournaments of various countries including South Korea, Japan.