Narrow defeat for India cagers in FIBA Asia Cup

BANGALORE The Indian men’s basketball team lost 54 – 61 to Jordan in the FIBA Asia Cup on Friday. India sank some early buckets and raced to a 12 – 8 lead. But Jordan fought back and wrested back a one point lead by the end of the first quarter.

India did well to stay in the game right through, but Jordan’s Mousa Alawadi scored crucial buckets to maintain their lead every time the Indian men closed the gap.

He top scored for Jordan with 22 points. Power forward and captain Amjyot Singh Gill led the scoring for India with 17 points, and Aravind Annadurai grabbed 10 rebounds.

India will also be encouraged by a cameo from 17-year-old Baladhaneshwar Poiyamozhi, who made some good plays on transition in the second half.

SUPER BOXING LEAGUE NEW DELHI: Maratha Yoddhas were crowned winners of the Super Boxing League after they defeated Haryana Warriors 10-9. Maratha Yoddhas’ Sandeep Singh and Andy Chuaua won their respective bouts to give them a 6-0 lead. Haryana Warriors’ Suman Kumari, Sandeep Nain and Sukhdeep Singh however won the next three bouts to take a 9-6 lead.

But in the last bout Sandeep Chhikara won by a technical knock out to hand the league to Maratha Yoddhas.

YODDHAS BEAT TITANS AHMEDABAD: UP Yoddha kept their nerves until the dying minutes to defeat Telugu Titans 39-32 in an even battle of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) here at the Trasstadia Arena. UP kept calm till the very end with its skipper Nitin Tomar scoring a super 10 points through his successful raids to lead his side to a narrow seven points win. The Hyderabad outfit captain Rahul Chaudhari’s (12 points) effort from his 23 attempted raids ended in vain.

In another match, Dabang Delhi KC lost to Gujarat Fortunegiants 25-29.