Amritpal Singh impresses all Down Under

Singh, the captain of Indian basketball team, may become the first India-born player to play in the National Basketball League (NBL), the professional league in Oceania region involving teams from Australia and New Zealand.

Amritpal impressed scouts and media alike at the NBL Draft Combine in Melbourne.

According to NBL’S official website, Amritpal, the 6’ 11” centre from Punjab, ended the draft tied as the leading shot blocker among all the participants.

“Amritpal Singh could potentially be the first Indian-born player to play in the NBL. Singh, with a large frame and giant wing-span, was one of the standout performers at last week’s NBL Combine, capturing the attention of a number of coaches,” the NBL report said.

The NBL is an 8-team league (seven from Australia and one from New Zealand) that is played between October and March.

survived a scary moment in the heats before going on to deliver a stunning win ahead of the United States and Jamaica in the men’s 4x200m at the IAAF World Relays.

Germany produced another surprise an hour later when they won the women’s 4x100.

Canada’s win, the first in the event by a non-us or Jamaican team at the World Relays, came after their leadoff runner Gavin Smellie was called for a false start in the heats. “There was maybe a little twitch, but I didn’t move,” said Smellie.

Watching the video got the officials to withdraw the red card.

The United States, running without Justin Gatlin, were second in the final in 1:19.88 and Jamaica took third (1:21.09).

In the women’s 4x100, anchor Rebekka Haas held off Jamaica’s Sashalee Forbes to give Germany their first World Relays victory in 42.84 seconds. “We were just hoping to get a medal, but we got gold,” said German leadoff Alexandra Burghardt.