Indian basketball aims for giant leap
MUMBAI: Basketball will be a part of the Commonwealth Games only for the second time at Gold Coast. The sport made its debut in 2006 Melbourne but was dropped thereafter. With the Games back in Australia, the Organising Committee has put it back on the roster and eight teams each in men’s and women’s section will vie for the top honours. The teams have been divided into two groups of four each with the higher-ranked teams in Pool A. The top two teams in Pool A, after preliminary matches played in a round-robin format, will qualify for the semi-finals while the teams placed third and fourth in Pool A will play knockout qualifying matches (qualifying finals) against the top two teams from Pool B to decide the remaining two semi-finalists. In 2006 Melbourne, the women finished third in Pool B. They beat Malta in the classification round and lost to Mozambique 44-70 to finish sixth among eighth team. The men’s team lost all its matches. Despite the dismal show in 2006, much is expected from the cagers in Gold Coast as they have improved a lot under foreign coaches. The men’s team, ranked 62nd in the world, is in Pool B along with England (40), Cameroon (65) and Scotland. Pool A comprises Australia, ranked 12th, Canada (23), Nigeria (38) and New Zealand (38).
The Basketball Federation of India has picked a solid men’s squad with ex-NBA player Satnam Singh Bhamra leading the charge along with Amjyot Singh and Amritpal Singh, who plays for Sydney Kings in the Australian National Basketball League. Though Palpreet Singh, the first Indian to be drafted into NBA G-League, has been left out, Satnam, Amjyot and Amritpal have the experience of playing in foreign leagues and should give the team a big boost.
In the women’s section, India are ranked 45th and should improve on their sixth-place finish in Melbourne. They are in Pool B along with New Zealand (42), Jamaica (37) and Malaysia (48). India should be able to beat Malaysia and a good result against Jamaica or New Zealand could put them in contention for a spot in the playoffs for the semis.
The team’s build-up was marred by visa problems with some players and coaches reaching Australia late for the planned three-week preparation. Now that the issue is resolved, the teams would like to put the disappointment behind and try to make a mark.