Munshiganj has a new reason to cheer at the pool. Fatiha Mahtab Maisha, a young swimmer from Rasulpur village in Imampur union of Gazaria upazila, has been named the best female swimmer at the national championship organised by the Bangladesh Swimming Federation, her second national best-swimmer honour of 2026.

The National Swimming, Diving and Water Polo Championship, held from 28 to 31 October at the Syed Nazrul Islam National Swimming Complex in Mirpur, Dhaka, brought together the country's leading swimmers, divers and water polo players. Competing for the Bangladesh Navy, Maisha won five gold medals and one silver and set three new national records, according to a report by the local outlet Amar Bikrampur.

The result follows an outstanding showing in July at the National Age-Group Swimming and Diving Championship, where she collected 10 gold medals, one silver and four national records and was also named best swimmer.

Her path to the top has not been straightforward. She first learned to swim under her maternal grandfather, Md Samsul Islam Babul, a retired senior warrant officer of the army and a former international swimmer. In 2021 she joined the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan (BKSP), where she set two junior national records. After leaving BKSP in late 2024, she stayed away from swimming for more than six months, before returning with encouragement from Mahfuza Akter Shila, a South Asian Games gold medallist and coach.

In late 2025, Maisha joined the Navy as a contract swimmer. She now trains under Navy coaches Mahfuza Akter Shila, Niaz Ahmed, Jewel Ahmed and Rubel Ahmed. Earlier this year she represented Bangladesh at the Mini Olympics in Serbia.

Her father, Mahtab Uddin Masum, is a regular singer on Bangladesh Betar and BTV, and her mother is Samsun Nahar Popy. Family members and local sports lovers in Gazaria have welcomed the achievement. Two national best-swimmer titles in a single year mark a milestone in her career and a proud moment for women's sport in Munshiganj.

Photo: Rufino Uribe, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons