Maharashtra Boys; Chhattisgarh Girls win 2011 Sub Jr. National Basketball Championship

Basketball fans in Lucknow were given a visual treat on Friday evening as the best under-14 teams from around India clashed in the Finals of the 38th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls in the city’s RDSO court. Eight days of exciting hoops action ended in fitting manner as the boys’ final saw Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra fight neck-no-neck in a classic final, which was finally won by Maharashtra. The Girls’ championship was a repeat of last year’s final between Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, and for the seventh consecutive year, it was Chhattisgarh who emerged as Sub Jr champions.

Basketball fans couldn’t have asked for a better final than the face-off between Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh Boys, two teams with contrasting but effective styles. The teams stayed close throughout: Andhra Pradesh using taking advantage of their length and speed, while Maharashtra relied on their skill and passing. AP had a slim, one point lead at the end of the half, but couldn’t extend on the advantage: neither side was able to go over more than four point of their opponent for the majority of the game.

With the game reaching its last moments, Maharashtra had overturned the score and had a three point lead in the fourth quarter, thanks to their talented guards who penetrated and passed very well all night. AP made some crucial mistakes in the end, and Maharashtra’s Zaid Shaikh pulled out big, level-headed plays to give his side a 61-58 win and the National championship.

“We had practiced very hard for this championship, and came ready to dominate,” said Shaikh, “We had beaten AP in a blowout early in this championship, so we had to be wary of their backlash tonight. Luckily, we were able to play well in the end and win – our team’s strength was our great combination.”

M. Siva Durga of AP led all scorers in the final with 16 points.

The girls’ final was a repeat of last year’s final between Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. Chhattisgarh Girls have been an unstoppable force in the Sub-Junior level, and win another big victory on Friday, won their 10th championship in 11 years. Chhattisgarh, who have been the best team in the competition, were in no mood for a slip-up in the final, as they started strong and refused to slow down against their opponents. Saving their best defensive performance for the finale, Chhattisgarh outscored Karnataka 36-7 in a devastating first half.

Chhattisgarh’s defense focused around stopping Karnataka’s Lopamudra, who had been the best individual player in the girls’ section in the tournament. With Lopa on check, Chhattisgarh were able to cruise in the second half and celebrate their seventh consecutive Sub-Junior national title with a 64-21 victory. Riya Verma led Chhattisgarh in the final with 23 points.

“We are a strong team because we are very united,” said P. Divya, the captain of the Chhattisgarh side, “We were prepared for this team because we had defeated them in the final last year, and in this year’s tournament, we knew that our team was too strong for any opponent.”

Earlier on Friday, the 3rd/4th place games were held: In the boys’ game, Punjab overcame a slow start against Chhattisgarh to make a strong comeback and win 70-47. Punjab were led by Guksewala (21 points) and Abhi (16). For Chhattisgarh, Mithun, who had scored 46 points in a loss to AP in the semi-final only the previous night, led the scoring charge of his team with 18 points in the 3rd/4th place playoff.

In the girls’ game, Maharashtra played a strong second quarter to overturn the score against Kerala and then race to a 48-37 win to clinch third place. Maharashtra were led by Veera who had 16 points.

Mr. V Ramachandran, the Director-General of RDSO, was the chief guest at the final and handed out the prize-winners trophies. “I was very glad to see the talent on display here and wish to see many of these players representing India one day,” said Ramachandran, “My best wishes go out to all those who took part in this championship. I would also like to thank the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the Uttar Pradesh Basketball Association (UPBA), and RDSO for conducting this big event.

For the first time in the Sub-Junior nationals, individual prizes were given for the Most Promising Players of the tournament. With the award, the individual players were also given a cash prize of Rs. 5000 each. The awards were given to:

Boys: M. Shiva Durga (Andhra Pradesh)
Girls: Riya Verma (Chhattisgarh)

Final Scores

Boys: Maharashtra (Shaikh Zaid 13, Astekar Aditya 12, Shaikh Mearaj 11, Shaikh Hammd 11) bt. Andhra Pradesh (M.Siva Durga 16, B.Neeraj Kumar 11, P.Durga Prasad 10) 61-58 (18-15, 13-17, 14-10, 16-16)

Girls: Chhattisgarh (Riya Verma 23, P.Divya 12) bt. Karnataka 64-21 (23-6, 13-1, 7-2, 21-12)

3rd/4th Place Matches

Boys: Punjab (Guksewala 21, Abhi 16, Sukhder 13) bt. Chhattisgarh (Mithun 18, Hitesh 12) 70-47 (10-15, 15-9, 19-9, 26-14)

Girls: Maharashtra (Veera 16) bt. Kerala (Aleena 14) 48-37 (10-12, 12-4, 12-10, 14-11)

Finals Standings

Boys
1. Maharashtra
2. Andhra Pradesh
3. Punjab

Girls
1. Chhattisgarh
2. Karnataka
3. Maharashtra

Sub-Jr Nationals: Holders Chhattisgarh start strong in India’s premier U14 national basketball championship

India’s finest under-14 level basketball players, from all four corners of the country, gathered together as the 38th Sub-Jr. National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls got under way at the RDSO basketball courts in the city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday. Although the first day of the championship was disrupted by heavy showers, perennial powerhouses Chhattisgarh girls started off strong again with a convincing victory over Punjab.

24 boys’ teams and 23 girls’ teams are taking part in this championship, which features the youngest members of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) family. The nationals, organised by the BFI and the Uttar Pradesh Basketball Association (UPBA), was inaugaurated by the chief guest V. Ramchandran, the director-general of RDSO, on Thursday evening.

Mr. Alok Sharma, the president of the UPBA was also present at the opening ceremony and encouraged the young hoop stars at present at the tournament. “You have come here to enjoy the game. At this stage, you learn the basics of basketball, you learn to win, and you learn to lose. Learning to lose is as important as learning to win.”

The Chhattisgarh Girls side, winners of the 2010 championship in Kangra, started where they left off in Lucknow with a dominating win over Punjab. Chhattisgarh only allowed Punjab to score one point in the first three quarters, and were comfortable 43-8 winners.

In a close Boys’ game, Andhra Pradesh edged out Haryana 36-34. After taking a comfortable eight point lead at the end of three quarters, Haryana made a furious comeback in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough to stop AP from a close victory.

Final Scores

Boys

Andhra Pradesh (MA Salman 11) bt. Haryana (Mohit 11) 36-34 (5-10, 10-6, 11-2, 10-16)

Girls

Chhattisgarh (Rhea Verma 13, P. Divya 12) bt. Punjab 43-8 (18-1, 7-0, 4-0, 14-7)

Delhi bt. Himachal Pradesh 25-10 (3-6, 7-0, 8-4, 7-0)

Haryana (Meena 16, Nikita 10) bt. Gujarat 38-14 (20-4, 4-0, 8-4, 6-0)

Young stars from 24 boys’ & 23 girls’ teams clash in Sub-Jr. Nationals in Lucknow

Featuring the young and budding basketball stars in India from all corners of the country, the 38th National Basketball Championship for Sub Junior Boys & Girls will be held at the RDSO Stadium in the city of Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) from September 16-23, 2011. This is a championship for Under-14 players and will feature 24 boys’ and 23 girls’ teams.

The ‘Sub-Junior Nationals’ will be organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in association with the Uttar Pradesh Basketball Association (UPBA). Players born on or after 01.01.1998 are eligible to participate.

The participating teams are:

Boys: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal.

Girls: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal.

The reigning champions of this trophy are Rajasthan Boys & Chhattisgarh Girls, who won last year’s Sub Junior Nationals in Kangra (Himachal Pradesh).

Delhi Boys; Kerala Girls become 2011 Youth Champions

On an evening where India’s best young basketball talent competed against each other to win the top prize, the real winner was the spectacle basketball. The Finals of the 28th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls were held at Divisional Sports Complex at Nagpur (Maharashtra) on Thursday – in both the boys’ and girls’ Finals, each team saved its best defense for last. The boys from the capital side Delhi used their length to snuff out a strong Madhya Pradesh side to lift the title. In the girls’ section, last year’s youth winners Kerala continued their hot streak, going undefeated in this year’s edition and beating a strong Chhattisgarh side in the final to become repeat champions.

The Boys Final was a defensive juggernaut, as both teams played their toughest defense to deny their opponents from getting any shots at the basket. Both teams were quick and athletic, but baskets weren’t coming easy for anyone. Delhi led most of the way though, especially behind the rare combination of skill and size shown by Pradeep Kumar. MP committed too many turnovers as Delhi took a big lead – MP attempted a comeback in the fourth quarter, even making it a three point game with just 5:24 left on the clock, but Delhi regrouped well after a timeout and enjoyed their best offense in the tournament’s last five minutes, cruising to a 58-47 win.

Neither side was spectacular from the field, as MP shot 26 percent, and the winners, Delhi, just 21 percent. But Delhi’s players, led by Akimjeet Singh, did an incredible job attacking the basket, winning fouls and getting to the free throw line. The 17-5 difference in free throws made was also the difference maker between the two teams.

“We prepared for this tournament one day at a time,” said jubilant Delhi coach JN Nehra, “We studied the strategy and playing style of each opponent that we faced, and we prepared for each one differently. That helped us get to the top.”

There was no stopping Kerala as they out-dueled Chhattisgarh in an entertaining Girls’ final. Poojamol KS, who had been Kerala’s best player all tournament, put up her best performance in the Final, putting in 40 points and grabbing 13 rebounds – her opposite number, Anjana Ekka of Chhattisgarh, also gave a tough fight, scoring 37 points to go with 13 rebounds and game-high 6 blocks.

The Girls’ final started slowly, but Chhattisgarh quickly took control of the game. Kerala boasted of several long and athletic players, but they ran into a big roadblock as Chhattisgarh’s 6 foot 6 inch Centre Poonam Chaturvedi guarded the post. But Poojamal was too swift for even Chhattisgarh’s defense, and she shot a high percentage en-route to her 40 point night. Kerala did a great job in combating Chhattisgarh’s size with speed.

The game was reminiscent of Chhattisgarh’s semi-final with Maharashtra, where they came back big in the second half for a close win. It was a different story in the Final: Kerala continued to play well in the second, isolating Anjana Ekka who was on a shooting spree for Chhatisgarh. Poojamal and the rest of Kerala went blow for blow with Anjana, and in the end, there would be no comeback as Kerala won 70-61.

“I was very confident about this game,” Poojamal exclaimed after clinching the title for her side, “Our team had a lot of practice before this tournament to deal with pressure situations such as this final, and I was ready tonight. I am very happy about winning this championship and it is a great achievement for the state of Kerala.”

Mr. Harish Sharma, CEO of the BFI, congratulated all the players who participated in he championship, and added, "I'm proud of these young stars, they have worked hard for this achievement and I hope that they will have a great future. Basketball in India is at a turning point and it will be these young players who will lead the way in the coming years."

Earlier in the day, the host Maharashtra side, whose boys’ and girls’ teams had both lost at the Semi-Final stage, played in the third-place playoff matches. Maharashtra Boys faced a motivated Chhattisgarh, who led the game from start to end for a comfortable 73-56 win. Akash Bhasin, one of the tournament’s best scorers, had 32 points for Chhattisgarh, while T. Shantanu paced Maharashtra with 26.

In the Girls’ playoff, the highly-touted Maharashtra team shrugged off the disappointing semi-final loss to Chhattisgarh from a day earlier and won a highly-competitive game against the speedy girls from Haryana. Haryana Girls, one of the stories of the tournament, stayed neck to neck with Maharashtra throughout the game. In the third, Maharashtra finally opened up a big lead as their stars Shireen Limaye (17 points) and Shruti Menon (16) began to click. Haryana’s fourth quarter comeback wasn’t enough as they lost 70-63. Rimpy Hooda had 21 points for Haryana and Bharti Sihag added 18.

Final Scores

Boys: Delhi (Akimjeet Singh 16, Pradeep Kumar 15, Pankaj Rathi 15) bt. Madhya Pradesh (Shivam Mishra 23) 58-47 (14-9, 13-9, 7-13, 24-16).

Girls: Kerala (Poojamol KS 40, Arthy Vimal 12) bt. Chhattisgarh (Anjana Ekka 37) 70-61 (16-21, 9-15, 20-16, 16-18).

3rd/4th Place Playoffs

Boys: Chhattisgarh (Akash Basin 32, Saif Hashmi 10, M. David Boon 10) bt. Maharashtra (T. Shantanu 26, Rohan Ramesh 11) 73-56 (21-16, 19-15, 16-12, 17-13).

Girls: Maharashtra (Shireen Limaye 17, Sruthi Menon 16, Ishwari Pingle 11, Kritika Divadkar 11) bt. Haryana (Rimpy Hooda 21, Bharti Sihag 18, Monika Vats 11) 70-63 (23-21, 14-12, 22-12, 11-18).

Poonam Chaturvedi: The next next big thing

Off the court, she quietly tries to hide behind her teammates. But while silence may deny us from hearing her, she can’t stay visibly hidden for too long. A month shy of her 16th birthday, Poonam Chaturvedi is already 6 foot 6 inches tall, at least half a foot bigger than any of the other girls in her Chhattisgarh Youth team. Any attempt to hide is futile.

Poonam Chaturvedi grew so tall, so quickly, that she has already forgotten tall she exactly was just three years ago.

“A grew a lot when I was 13,” she says.

“How much did you grow?” I ask, trying to get her to be a bit more specific.

“A lot.”

It isn’t easy for a 6 foot 6 inch human being to hide, but everything from Poonam’s own shy demeanour to the years she played ball silently away from the public eye indicate that somehow, this giant teenager remained a secret. Women’s basketball in India is mostly a small girl’s game, and so anyone with the perfect advantage of height and skills literally rises head and shoulders above all to dominate. See the case of Geethu Anna Jose, India’s best known basketball player, who at 6 foot 2 has been the best player in the Women’s game for half a decade and became the first Indian to be invited for a WNBA trial.

Still at the U16 level, Poonam has already become the tallest female basketball player in India. The height came by nature, but it is the work she is putting into her game now that will help her grow into the best basketball player that she can be.

Born and bred in Kanpur (UP), Poonam now finds herself as the centerpiece of the U-16 girls side representing the Chhattisgarh state at the Youth National Basketball Championship in Nagpur. After a false start to her basketball career at the hostel in Agra, she was spotted at the National Women’s Games in Chhattisgarh by Chhattisgarh Basketball Association’s secretary Rajesh Patel. A man with a shrewd eye for scouting and grooming successful women’s basketball players, Patel, who is also the coach of Chhattisgarh’s women teams, realised that the young giant Poonam would have to become his next project.

“We saw her playing for UP at the Women’s Games and we wanted to speak to her,” Patel says, “Over the next four months, I must have called her father 30 to 40 times to try and convince him to send her to join our basketball camp in Billai (Chhattisgarh).”

Patel’s camp and hostel in Billai has gained the reputation of becoming Indian Basketball’s talent factory – it took until the end of April before Poonam finally joined the other talented young girls at the hostel, and the opportunity couldn’t have come a moment too soon.

“Back in Agra, her game wasn’t developing at all,” said Patel, “There were only six or seven girls in the hostel there, so the only practice they got was shoot-around, there were never enough to play a full five-on-five game. When we recruited her to Chhattisgarh, we barely had a month to make sure she fit in with the system. She had to be ready to play for our U16 team at the Youth Nationals.”

Her big unveiling, and her first competitive game for Chhattisgarh, was against Uttarakhand on the first day of the Youth Nationals. Still showing a lack of coordination in fitting in with the run-n-gun Chhattisgarh side, Poonam nevertheless managed to score 14 points in a dominating blowout win for her side.

“We’ve had to practice extra to fit her in,” Patel says, “For the last month, the girls would be up at 4 in the morning to practice extra drills and extra plays that involve Poonam.”

Patel’s Chhattisgarh sides have always suffered from height, but never have they let that come between them and success. In producing one of the most-triumphant programmes ever in several different age levels over the last decade, Patel has preached a style of ball-hawking defense and quick fast-break baskets to make sure that his teams almost always win.

Now, both Patel and his latest recruit are in new territory: the coach because he has to change his offensive and defensive schemes around a taller but slower player, and Poonam because she was playing with a quick team which already carried with it a winning culture. It was no surprise then that she was a step too slow in her early competitions with Chhattisgarh, but both player and coach realise that there is a long road to improvement.

“My game has improved a lot since I came to Chhattisgarh,” she says, “But I want to keep playing harder and keep improving. This is a good defensive team and I realise that my defense will need work to fit in: I still need to learn how to always stay in front of the player I’m guarding.”

Patel is even more critical of his young and potential-ridden player. “We have changed our defensive patterns for her, and she will have to fit in. But there are a lot more areas where we have been working hard on, giving her hours of extra, individual training: her jumping/athletic ability, her back to the basket game, free throws, showing, dribbling, and of course, we want her to gain more weight and bring a lot more power to her game.”

Yet, regardless of the holes in Poonam’s game, it isn’t difficult to see why this 6 foot 6 teenager is garnering all the hype at the competition. She already has a naturally good shooting stroke, a good offensive post game, and in just her first month of proper basketball training, she has become good enough to be a real threat for opponents at the Youth Nationals.

“She makes our team a lot better too,” Patel adds, “We now feel a psychological edge of having the tallest player whenever we go against any opponent. With her on this side, I know this team can qualify for the final.

But both Poonam and Patel are looking way beyond the Youth Nationals: Patel’s next aim is to make sure that Poonam is chosen for Indian National U16 Select Camp after this tournament. He is also hopeful that, with the arrival of a world class strength trainer Zak Penwell, Poonam will have just the kind of guidance she needs to bulk up into perfect shape.

“Her future is very bright,” says Patel, “She’s still young, and is already the tallest player in India: she can go a long way.”

And while her coach gives the outspoken support, and while the comparisons of ‘next Geethu’ pour in, Poonam remains confident in her own quiet and calm way. “I want to play for India,” she says.

No matter how hard she tries, a big girl with potentially bigger talent like Poonam can’t remain hidden behind anyone. Kanpur and Agra saw her grow, Chhattisgarh helped her develop, and Nagpur will see the early fruits of the combination of skill and size. And it won’t be long before all of India Basketball knows about the next next big thing.

Punjab Men & TN Women win National Games Basketball Tournament

The basketball tournament at the 34th National Games in Ranchi came to an end on Tuesday, February 22nd, as Punjab Men and Tamil Nadu Women won their respective final games at the Harivansh Tana Bharat Indoor Stadium at city's Mega Sports Complex.


Led by explosive and experienced point guard TJ Sahi (28) points, Punjab sped past a hapless Uttarakhand side in the Final, leading the entire way to aa massive 97-57 win. The twin towers for Punjab, Jagdeep Singh and Yadwinder Singh had big games with 20 and 19 points respectively. Muralikrishna had 19 points for Uttarakhand in a losing effort.

The Women's game was a see-saw affair between Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh, the winners of the recent Federation Cup in Raipur. After trailing by two at the end of the first quarter, Tamil Nadu's legendary Center Geethu Anna Jose caught fire, scoring at will to end the game with 34 points and dominate the next three quarters. TN beat Chhattisgarh 79-45. Renjini Jose added 21 for TN. For Chhattisgarh, captain Anju Lakra had a valiant 25 points.

Earlier in the day, in the third-place match-ups, Tamil Nadu Men won bronze after defeating Services 81-68. Delhi Women got third place after a win over Maharashtra 79-59.

Western Railway & Chhattisgarh win thrilling final contests to hoist 25th Federation Cup trophy

In a thrilling and memorable conclusion to the 25th IMG-Reliance Federation Cup Basketball Championship for Men and Women in Raipur, Western Railway (Men) and hosts Chhattisgarh (Women) survived late comebacks by their opponents to lift the Federation Cup trophy on Tuesday, February 15th.

After squandering a 14-point half-time lead to a re-energised IOB (Chennai) side, Western Railway found themselves down by one point in the final seconds of the Men’s final. It took late game heroics from Railway’s point guard Arjun Singh ‘Golu’, who hit a drive-in jumper with just three seconds left on the clock to give Western Railway a 75-74 lead and seal an emotional victory for his team.

Behind leading scorer Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (28 points), Western Railway started off the final well, maintaining a good lead over IOB, and went into halftime up by 48-34. But they started to lose their rhythm in the third quarter as IOB began plotting a comeback. Led by the sharpshooting by Mihir Pandey, V. Mathew Revi (16), and the clutch play of international point guard Hareesh Koroth (20), IOB were on fire in the fourth quarter, barely missing a shot, and overturning an eight point deficit with five minutes to go into a one point lead in the dying seconds. It took Arjun’s game-winner in the last seconds to pull off an exciting Railway win.

Earlier in the day, another exciting game took shape in the Women’s final, as high-flying hosts Chhattisgarh took on traditional Indian powerhouse, Southern Railway. To cope with dominating Center Geethu Anna Jose, Chhattisgarh employed a double-team defense of Seema Singh and Jose Jilna. Their tactic worked early on, as Chhattisgarh played their trademark fast-paced game and led comfortably for most of the three quarters.

But Southern Railway began to make a valiant comeback in the final quarter, as Geethu was finally freed up from her shackles and began to find her baskets easily. As Chhattisgarh began to tire, Railway threatened to come back and steal the game away from the hosts. But their attempt was a too little too late, as Chhattisgarh survived to win 76-71. Chhattisgarh’s unstoppable twosome of Anju Lakra (22) and Pushpa M. (21) were once again the best players for their squad, whereas Geethu Anna Jose dropped 22 points for the losing side.

The matches to decide for third-place also took place earlier on Tuesday. After losing to Chhattisgarh in the Semi-Final, Delhi Women bounced back strong against Kerala behind Prashanti Singh (23) and Asha Hedge (18) to win 70-58. Soniya Joy had 16 points for Kerala.

In the Men’s 3rd/4th place match-up, Indian Army defeated ONGC 68-59 to seal third place. Navneet Singh led Army with 20 points and Anoop M. had 16 for ONGC.

At the end of the tournament, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Western Railway) and Prashanti Singh (Delhi) won the Federation Cup’s leading scorer awards.

Final Scores

Men: Western Railway 75 (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 28, Yadwinder Singh 15) bt. IOB (Chennai) 74 (Hareesh Koroth 20, V Mathew Rewi 16).
Women: Chhattisgarh 76 (Anju Lakra 22, Pushpa M. 21, Seema Singh 13) bt. Southern Railway 71 (Geethu Anna Jose 22, Renjini Peter 15).

Third/Fourth Place Playoffs

Men: Indian Army 68 (Navneet Singh 20, Gopal Ram 13) bt. ONGC 59 (Anoop M. 16, Riyazuddin 15).
Women: Delhi 70 (Prashanti Singh 23, Asha Hedge 18) bt. Kerala 58 (Soniya Joy 16).

Leading Scorers

Men: Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Western Railway)
Women: Prashanti Singh (Delhi)

Final Standings

Men: Western Railway, IOB (Chennai), Indian Army, ONGC
Women: Chhattisgarh, Southern Railway, Delhi, Kerala

With experience on their side, ONGC aim to win their third straight Federation Cup

One look at the team list for ONGC, and it’s immediately clear that there is something special about this team. Of all the team’s playing at the Federation Cup in Raipur, ONGC might not feature most of the current crop of India’s internationals (that honour goes to Western Railway), or feature some of the game’s exciting youngsters who play for teams like Billai Steel Plant, but they’re a squad blessed with some of the most experienced players in India.

“Our experience is obviously our strongest point,” says ONGC coach Rajendra Singh Rathore, who has been a former Junior and Senior India player himself, “We have a mix of former and current stars who are starring in this championship.”

ONGC feature the likes of Trideep Rai, who was part of India’s recent squad that travelled to Guangzhou (China) for the Asian Games. But along with him are a host of other legends, such as the superstar Riyazuddin, who is attempting a comeback from a serious injury, Mohit Bhandari, Murali Krishna, Anoop, and Sridhar S.

Each of their various weapons bring different things to the game, resulting in a well-assembled fit. The wily point-guard Bhandari orchestrates ONGC’s offense, slashing through defenders to shoot, lay-up, or create great shooting opportunities for his teammates. Riyaz, who is one of the best in the country at creating his own shot, succeeds best when the team begins to play a fast-paced game. Their dominating big men, Murali, Anoop, and Nishant Kumar make it difficult for opponents to out-rebound them. And ONGC turn most to Trideep, their best pure scorer, to make the big shots when most needed.

Still, having perhaps the oldest squad in the tournament doesn’t come without its speed-bumps. Several of the players in ONGC are playing the tournament with niggling injuries. But no obstacle, whether internal or from a foe, has been able to defeat the team’s spirit. Even in the toughest of games, ONGC look calm and assured of themselves, ready to strike when the moment calls for.

Unlike the usual run-and-gun offense applied by most of their opponents, ONGC play a slightly slower inside-outside game, relying on half-court set-ups and their beefy big men to help them control the paint.

Coming into this year’s tournament in Raipur, ONGC are the two-time holding champions of the Federation Cup, after their triumphs at Alwar (Rajasthan) and Rourkella (Orissa) in the previous years. “We have done well in this tournament in the past, and we will do our best to retain it,” said team captain Amit Kumar Singh.

So far, it has been smooth sailing in the Semi-Finals for the squad: ONGC have won all three of their group games, defeating IOB (Chennai) and Billai Steel Plant in close contests, and then blowing past Vijaya Bank for an easy victory on Sunday morning.

Coach Rathore believes that it will be their ability to perform well in the close competitions that will give them a slight edge going further in the tournament. “Our experience will count the most in neck-to-neck games,” he said, “This is when we feel we can perform better.”

Featuring the best amongst the best in the country, there are no easy games in the Federation Cup: but with a squad which has been through so many battles and with so many years of experience under their belt, ONGC are looking hungry to make it a three-peat.

With Chhattisgarh's first indoor stadium, Raipur bids to enter the Basketball world

There is one side of India that the world knows well and recognizes. This is the side that features the wide roads and super-fast Metro trains in New Delhi, or the Bollywood stories and the glamour from Mumbai, or the burgeoning IT/BPO spheres in cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore.

But then there is another India, which houses the large majority of the Indian people, and which has overseen a quiet but incredible economical surge. This is Middle India: the bread-basket from where we get our people, our rice, and one of our most valuable produces, Iron.

And a little left to the middle of Middle India is the state of Chhattisgarh. Formed from separation off of Madhya Pradesh 11 years ago, the state of Chhattisgarh has had an accelerated rise in its economical profile. Once the country’s major agricultural processing centre, Chhattisgarh’s capital city of Raipur has now evolved into a commercial hub for coal, power, steel, and aluminum industries. There are hundreds and hundreds of steel rolling mills and iron and steel plants around this growing city.

As a state, Chhattisgarh has also made its mark felt in the sports sector, and especially in the world of Indian basketball. For the past decade since the new state’s Chhattisgarh Pradesh Basketball Association (CGPBA) became affiliated to the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the state has been basketball’s best kept secret.

The state team is collected, trained, formed, and housed in and around the city of Bhilai: the Bhilai Steel Plant has had a major influence in shaping the face of basketball in the state. But in the state’s capital city of Raipur, though, the step towards basketball seemed a long way away.

But it seems that things have turned a corner for this city: A little more than a week ago, on the 3rd of February, Chhattisgarh’s first indoor stadium, built by the city’s municipal corporation, was inaugurated in Raipur. Within a week, the brand new Budhatalab Indoor Stadium in Raipur was ready to be tested. For the first time, the city of Raipur is playing host to a national level basketball championship, as the 25th IMG-Reliance Federation Cup National Basketball Championship tipped off at the stadium on Feb 10th. For six days, the best teams and players in the country will be competing for this prestigious championship, and they will be competing in Raipur.

“It feels great to finally have a top quality indoor stadium in the state,” said Rajesh Patel, the honorary secretary of the CGPBA and one of the most dedicated coaches and talent scouts in the country, “Chhattisgarh has performed well over the years just by practicing on the outdoor courts. Now with better infrastructure, we hope that it will translate to more success for our teams.”

The new stadium had an inauspicious start: According to Patel planning and work began 15 years ago, but was stalled in the middle due to several complications. A year ago, it was picked up by the city again, and was finally completed in time for this tournament.

Apart from basketball, the stadium also has facilities for other indoor sports like Handball, Volleyball, Table Tennis, and Badminton. It can fit a maximum audience capacity of 5,000.

Earlier, Bhilai had played host to three major basketball nationals, but none of them were Senior events: the Junior championship in 2001, Sub-Junior championship in 2005, and Youth championship in 2008. Patel added that, now equipped with this indoor stadium, the next step would be to bring the Senior National Championship to Chhattisgarh and to Raipur.

“We would also like to hold Indian national team camps here in the future,” Patel added.

And another thing that Patel and the rest of the Chhattisgarh will be hoping is that through these efforts, the city of Raipur, which has so far been a relative stranger to basketball, begins to morph into a city with a healthy basketball culture. “This city still doesn’t have an official basketball coach for this court who will help guide young players,” Patel said, “Of course, there are good basketball players from here who have developed their game in Bhilai and even made it to the national level, but now we need more players to develop from Raipur itself. The talent is here, and so is the infrastructure, all that is needed now is the right kind of guidance.”

After the Federation Cup’s inauguration ceremony on Thursday night, the Chhattisgarh Girls’ team put on a resounding show of confidence in front of the state’s Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh on their first official game on this new court. Chhattisgarh defeated Tamil Nadu by an easy 30 points, after which the team’s captain Anju Lakra seemed more than happy with the new setting for basketball.

“Early on, we thought that this court was going to be different,” Anju admitted, “But as we got into the flow of the game, we started to enjoy playing there. And since we won the game, the court also won our hearts!”

It might just be the first of many crucial steps, but Chhattisgarh’s basketball fraternity will be hoping that the game can win over the hearts of the city, so that one day the city known for its coal, iron and agriculture will be known for its bouncing rubber balls, too!

Chhattisgarh welcomes India's best teams to the Federation Cup

On the opening ceremony of the 25th IMG-Reliance Federation Cup National Basketball Championship for Men and Women at the Budhatalab Indoor Stadium in Raipur, Chhattisgarh on February 10th, chief guest and Chhattigarh’s Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh said that he hoped to see Chhattisgarh become India’s top sporting state. And with an energetic first win against Tamil Nadu, the Chhattisgarh’s Women’s team stamped a perfect response to Singh’s wishes.

The Chhattisgarh home crowd roared with joy from the very first basket, and the signature quickfire play of the girls on the court was no match for Tamil Nadu. Chhattisgarh built a 28-6 lead in the first quarter, and continued to play strong defense to deny TN any chance of bringing the game any closer.

Chhattisgarh continued to play a balanced inside-outside game, as they excelled both in fast break scoring, sharp inside passes, and with accurate outside shooting, as several different players contributed to their score. They led 45-20 at halftime en-route to a resounding 82-52 victory. Chhattigarh’s star M. Pushpa finished with a game-high 30 points on some sharp-shooting from beyond the three-point arc. V. Amutha scored 16 in a losing effort for TN.

The Federation Cup, which features the best eight teams in the men’s and women’s divisions from the previous year’s National Basketball Championship in Ludhiana, was inaugurated at the brand new Budhatalab Stadium in Raipur earlier in the evening by Dr. Raman Singh. “We’re lucky to witness the first ever games of this tournament at this new stadium,” Singh said, “We will hope to see a great environment for basketball here!”

“The Chhattisgarh government will try to do everything possible to help develop sports in this state,” Singh added, “In 11 years since its inception, Chhattisgarh has become top in the country in several sectors; I hope that in the future we can be in number one in sports, too.”

Harish Sharma, the Secretary-General of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) also acknowledged the growing status of Chhattisgarh as a basketball superpower. “The Chhattisgarh Pradesh Basketball Association (CGPBA) has become a strong association over the years,” said Sharma, “Their players are now making the state proud in almost all levels of the game.”

Sharma added: “It is great to see this wonderful indoor stadium to host this championship. The public of Chhattisgarh should acknowledge all that its chief minister Dr. Raman Singh has done to help encourage sports in the state.”

In other Women’s action, the team from Delhi, who have finished runners-up in the last two National Championships, faced a plucky Maharashtra side on the first day of the Cup. Delhi took a confident first half lead of 33-24 behind some brilliant play by Indian National Team captain Prashanti Singh (24) and Raspreet Sidhu (23). But Maharashtra made an inspired run in the third quarter to even the score and then take the lead 42-40.

Shaken but not shattered, Delhi regained its composure and began to execute better offensively again. They went on a devastating 27-6 run between the end of the third and halfway through the fourth quarters. In the end, it was a comfortable 16 point victory for Delhi, 74-58.

Here is the full list of participating teams and their groups:

Men

Group A: Western Railway, Indian Army, Hyderabad District, KSEB.
Group B: IOB (Chennai), ONGC, Bhilai Steel Plant, Vijaya Bank (Bangalore).

Women

Group A: Southern Railway, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh.
Group B: Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra.

To stay updated with everything at the Federation Cup, Click Here for Full Schedule and Click Here for Results.

Basketball’s Federation Cup to tip off in Raipur (Chhattisgarh) from Feb 10th

In a competition where the finest basketball teams in the country are set to be pitted against each other, the 25th IMG-Reliance Federation Cup Basketball Championship for Men and Women will be held Raipur (Chhattisgarh) from 10th-15th February, 2011. The championship will be conducted by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in association with the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Basketball Association.

The Federation Cup is a tournament that features the top eight teams in both the men’s and women’s divisions from the previous year’s Sr. National Basketball Championship. Thus, the top ranked teams from the 60th National Basketball Championship (in Ludhiana) will take part in the Federation Cup this year.

The participating squads are:

Men

1. Indian Railways
2. Tamil Nadu
3. Uttarakhand
4. Services
5. Andhra Pradesh
6. Chhattisgarh
7. Karnataka
8. Kerala

Women

1. Indian Railways
2. Delhi
3. Chhattisgarh
4. Karnataka
5. Kerala
6. Tamil Nadu
7. Maharashtra
8. Andhra Pradesh

The host team qualifies automatically – this year, hosts Chhattisgarh already fell in the top-eight of both divisions. The Men and Women’s teams from Punjab will not be participating, and have been replaced by Kerala (Men) and Andhra Pradesh (Women).

The 24th edition of the Federation Cup was held at Alwar (Rajasthan) from October 22nd-26th, 2009. ONGC (Uttrakhand) were champion amongst the Men while SEC (Indian Railways) won the Women’s division.

Chhattisgarh star Anju Lakra set to defend her home ground in the Federation Cup

With the Indian basketball fraternity focusing more and more towards the youth and the future of the game, 27-year-old Anju Lakra became an outcast to the system. After being part of several senior teams, including the FIBA Asia Basketball Championships (ABC) for Women in Chennai in 2009, Anju was snubbed from the side when selections were made for India’s first ever appearance in the Asian Games in Guangzhou after a 28-year-gap.

But with age comes maturity: Anju, who has been playing the game for 15 years now, has taken the snub as a motivation to make it to the biggest stage again. “Maybe this time I wasn’t good enough for the team, but the Asian Games will take place again in four years, and now, I will be aiming for them,” she said. With the next edition of the ABC to take place in August this year, Anju also wishes to get a call-up to the camp for the squad that will head to Japan.

Back in domestic action though, Anju continued her Midas touch with the game this year: she was part of the Indian Railways side that again won the National Championship in Delhi last month, and towards the end of January, she carried her home state Chhattisgarh to the final of the Savio Cup in Mumbai, only to lose in the final to Southern Railway. For her extraordinary efforts in the tournament, Anju was named the Savio Cup’s Best Women Player.

Anju had a curious start to basketball – back at age 11, the tomboy approached her PT teacher at her school in Billai, hoping to get a chance to learn Hockey. The PT teacher recommended Anju towards Handball instead. It was her another year of learning Handball in her school until one day, Chhattisgarh Basketball’s Secretary Rajesh Patel spotted her playing. “You should try basketball,” he suggested.

And Anju was hooked.

Patel has a formidable reputation for building basketball in Chhattisgarh - Around 120 players have received training from him and received government jobs under sports quota. He has been the coach of the Indian Junior and Youth women basketball teams and 25 players trained by him have represented the Indian national team.

Luckily for Anju, she wisely took up his suggestion and shifted sports. Back then, before the formation of Chhattisgarh as a separate state, Anju played at the Sub-Junior and Youth level for the Madhya Pradesh side. When asked if it was strange to separate into a new state in 2000, Anju replied that on the contrary, it was a positive thing. “We had so many good players from the Chhattisgarh area who couldn’t make it to the talented MP side back then,” she said, “When Chhattisgarh was formed, I was happy that so many other players who were playing with me in Billai got a chance to represent the state.”

And in less than a year, Anju was back playing National Basketball – this time for Chhattisgarh, and in the Women’s Festival in Haldia, West Bengal. It didn’t take long for her to face her former teammates and her former state when Chhattisgarh faced MP in the third place playoff of the tournament. Anju and Chhattisgarh prevailed. “It was very exciting to play them and beat them for the first time!” she said.

Since her youth, Anju has been a mark of consistency, and a model for many young girls out of Chhattisgarh hoping to choose basketball as a way forward. She played her first game for India in the Junior ABC in New Delhi in 2000. Her first Senior call-up came a year later for the ABC in Bangkok. She played in more major tournaments, including the Senior ABC in 2005 and the ABC back home in Chennai, 2009.

Her versatile skills and ability to lead on court has made her a valuable asset to whoever she has represented – be it Indian Railways or Chhattisgarh. Anju is a 5 foot 4 forward, equally adept at playing as a playmaker and a scorer, although the strongest part of her game is definitely her accuracy from the long range.

Chhattisgarh lost to Southern Railway in the final of the Savio Cup, where Anju had to face several of her Indian Railways opponents like legendary Center Geethu Anna Jose and Anitha Pau Durai. “We have been going to the Savio Cup a lot and performing well – but to beat Southern Railway, we have to find a way of stopping Geethu,” Anju admits, “We can match up to them in other ways but still don’t have that size. It will take a couple more years before we can develop some talented tall girls to represent Chhattisgarh.”

“For now, our tactic is to try and outrun our opponent to score,” she said, “I have been playing well offensively, but whenever you focus too much on offense, your defense suffers. This is an area of my game which I feel needs the most improvement.”

Next up on Anju’s plate will be protecting her home turf, as the 25th Federation Cup, featuring the best eight teams from last year’s National Championship, is set to take place in Chhattisgarh from 10-15th of February. It will be a chance for Chhattisgarh and Anju to get immediate retribution from their rivals. “We will be playing on our home court,” Anju said, “So we will be extra motivated to play harder. Our main rivals are Indian Railways and Delhi, and these are the two teams that we have to keep our eye on.”

Even after 15 years in the game, Anju still remains hungry for more success in basketball and continues to dominate, especially since her performances at the Savio Cup. She credits everything to the game for helping her become who she is. “It is basketball that has brought me here,” she says, “In basketball, I have found a place where I can clear my mind. As I’ve grown with the game, I have become more independent and confident.”

“Every time I’m on a basketball court I have felt a great, family atmosphere,” she added, “All the coaches I have worked with have been supportive and helped me improve. That is why this game is so important.”

With no shortage of confidence and motivate, Anju will definitely be one to watch once the Federation Cup tips off in Raipur next week!

Indian Railways and Southern Railway win Savio Cup 6

In an exciting finale to eight days of mesmerising basketball at the Don Bosco–Matunga in Mumbai, Southern Railway (Women) and Indian Railways (Men) pulled off impressive victories to hoist the sixth edition of the United Phosphorous Limited (UPL) All India Savio Cup on Sunday, January 30th. Southern Railway relied on the talents of legendary Geethu Anna Jose to help beat Chhattisgarh in the Women’s final, 76-66. In the Men’s game, National Champions Indian Railways rallied behind an explosive game by Vishesh Bhriguvanshi as they pulled an improbable 91-79 upset over the strong American side, Shooting For Success (SFS).

For his consistent dominance throughout the competition, Bhriguvanshi was named player of the tournament. Anju Lakra, the Chhattisgarh captain, took the honour in the Women’s division.

In a tournament that has been gathering momentum and fan-following over the past few years, the Savio Cup 6 featured six Men’s teams (Indian Railways, SFS, IOB Chennai, Services, Punjab, Maharashtra) and four Women’s teams (Southern Railway, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka) who played in a league system from January 23-29th, with the final held on January 30th.

Trailing at the end of the first quarter in the Women’s final, Geethu, Anitha P., Renjini Peter, and the rest of the Southern Railway squad began to turn the game around against Chhattisgarh. Geethu led the game with 29 points while Anitha and Peter added 16 each for Railway as they won by 10 points. For Chhattisgarh, star players Pushpa M (27) and Anju Lakra (20) shined in the final.

Undefeated thus far, American side SFS were strong favourites to win the Men’s final as they faced the Indian Railways side who had won the National Championship in New Delhi a few weeks ago. Instead, Railways kept the game close in a face-paced, back-and-forth match-up. Trailing by two at the end of the third quarter, Railways played their strongest basketball behind Vishesh 33), Yadiwinder Singh (20) and Gagandeep Singh (16) to stand as 91-79 winners. Terry Fields (29) was the high man for SFS.

The winning teams in both divisions were rewarded Rs. 50,000 and the runners-up with Rs. 25,000.

A dunk competition was also held on the penultimate day of the Savio Cup, which was won by Terry Fields of SFS. Amjyot Singh (Punjab) and Anwar Ferguson (SFS) finished second and third respectively.

Final Scores

Women: Southern Railway 76 (Geethu Anna Jose 29, Renjini Peter 16, Anitha P. 16) bt. Chhattisgarh 66 (Pushpa M. 27, Anju Lakra 20).

Men: Indian Railways 91 (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 33, Yadiwinder Singh 20, Gagandeep Singh 16) bt. Shooting For Success 79 (Terry Fields 29, David Jones 13).

Best Players Awards

Women: Anju Lakra (Chhattisgarh).

Men: Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Indian Railways).

Chhattisgarh: Indian Basketball's best kept secret

The first quarter has ended. The scoreboard reads: Chhattisgarh 25, Delhi 2. As the Chhattisgarh junior girls team walk back to the bench for a break, their coach Rajesh Patel is still fuming.

You slowed down in the end,” he says, “This is a 40 minute game, and we have only played 10. We lead by 20 now, I want us to lead by 50 by the time the game's over.”

The Girls go back at it. They maintain their lead though, and by the time the final buzzer sounds, the score reads 69-48. It wasn’t a 50-point win, but the coach is happy indeed. Another day at the office for India’s most efficient basketball system.

The blowouts continue, from quarter to quarter, game to game, tournament to tournament, year to year. Here are some heady statistics: The Chhattisgarh state was formed out of Madhya Pradesh ten years ago. Ever since, Chhattisgarh girls have won nine out of the ten Sub-Junior National Championships, give out of nine youth championships (runners up three times), and seven out of nine Junior championships. By the time the talented Chhattisgarh girls reach Senior level, most of them get snagged off to play for Indian Railways (they have already taken 28 girls over the past decade).

For those who are not involved with the game in India, Chhattisgarh is basketball's best kept secret. In a state struggling to find a positive identity ever since its inception in 2001, Chhattisgarh’s Girls’ basketball programme has given its people more than enough reason for cheer.

Two words come to my mind when I watch them play, the same two that spring back up when I read about their near-perfect tournament records: ruthless efficiency.

In Vashi, where the 61st Junior National Championship is taking place, the Chhattisgarh girls, who are the defending champions, are playing up to their reputation. It’s a nightmare for opposing defenses. Wait a second too long and they’ll run down the court for a fast-break. Jump a little too early and they’ll fake and lay it up. Give them a little too much room and they’ll hit a perfect jumpshot. Sag too closely and they’ll beat you off the dribble. Opposing teams need to have a flawless defense to beat Chhattisgarh’s flawless offense. In their first four league games at Vashi, Chhattisgarh has won by 14 points against UP, 21 points against Delhi, 15 points against Karnataka, and 25 points against Andhra Pradesh. Opposing teams don’t really plan to beat them, they plan to not be embarrassed.

To those engrossed with big city lives of better infrastructure, major tournaments, brand new Nike LeBron sneakers or flashy NBA jerseys, the success of Chhattisgarh may seem like a mystery. To the untrained eye, they are, after all, a great unknown. But their ‘secret’ is as profound as it is simple: 24-7-365, Togetherness. All year round, the team stays together, plays together, studies together, eats together, and holds each other accountable.

Let this story serve as a microscope at the Chhattisgarh phenomenon. The city of Bhilai, smack in the middle of the Chhattisgarh state is known for two things: 1) the Bhilai Steel Plant, and 2) It happens to be one of the fastest growing cities (in terms of population) in the world. The Bhilai Steel Plant is the financial powerhouse behind providing infrastructure and manpower for Chhattisgarhi basketball, including four well-maintained outdoor courts. The Bhilai Engineering Corporation sponsor the state’s ‘Basketball Hostel’. At this hostel, 20 girls and 10 boys, usually from poor families, are housed all year long, where they eat, pray, and love basketball, practicing 10 hours each day, morning, evening, repeat.

And then there is their coach, Rajesh Patel. Patel is Honorary Secretary of the Chhattisgarh Basketball Association and Deputy Manager (Sports) at Billai Steel Plant, and has invested over 30 years into the game. Patel has built a well-planned system, where his scouts bring young players (around age 10-11) from deprived conditions and offer them a chance to make a living through basketball. “These are really poor kids from all around the state of Chhattisgarh,” said Patel, “Some are from tribal families. Some can't even afford to buy a pair of slippers for thier feet. Some have father’s who drive auto-rickshaws, or sell paan. We offer them the opportunity that if they are successful in basketball, they will be able to land a government job. By the time they leave, I want them to earn for themselves and be able to stand on their own two feet.”

And they don’t just stand, they stand tall. In his several decades in coaching, around 120 players that have trained under Patel have received government jobs under the sports quota. 25 players trained under him have represented the Indian Sr. National team. Till date, he has trained around 7,500 basketball players. Recently, Patel was felicitated at the FICCI sports summit for his contributions to developing grassroots basketball in India.

That is why it should be no surprise that the Chhattisgarh teams, particularly their girls, perform so well in national competitions. It should be no surprise that Patel has collected a total of 41 golds, 11 silvers, and 13 bronze medals in the four levels (Sub-Jr, Youth, Junior, and Senior) over the past decade. It should be no surprise that the Chhattisgarh girls team is dominating proceedings at this year’s Junior Nationals in Vashi. And it should certainly not be a surprise that out of the eight young Indian players chosen for the IMG Academy scholarship programme, four were from Chhattisgarh.

“These girls are hungry for success,” Patel says, “The potential for a job placement afterwards motivates them to keep trying harder.”

The Chhattisgarh Basketball Association plans their success in advance: The youngest ones are recruited to start preparing for the championships two years before they first feature in the Sub-Junior Nationals. The Sub-Junior team practices against the Youth, the Youth against the Juniors, and the Juniors against the Seniors.

Chhattisgarh has a successful boys’ team too, but the high expectations set by the girls almost keeps the boys shadowed a little bit. “See, in Chhattisgarh, we aren’t really blessed with the tallest or the biggest people,” said Patel, “Amongst the girls, you can manage to win by skill, but in the boys’ game, the physical attributes matter a lot more.”

“Also,” Patel admits, “The boys’ division is so much more competitive than the girls', so it is harder for them to win all the time.”

Meanwhile, the girls keep on winning and keep on representing the country at the highest level. The current junior girls’ team has three players who have represented India internationally at the Youth or Junior levels: captain Ranjeeta Kaur, Pushpa Nishad, and Sangeeta Mandal. All three ooze with confidence, and have used their international experience to help their squad.

“The international experience certainly helps a lot,” said Ranjeeta, “I’ve personally learnt a lot of defensive plays when facing tougher opponents, and it shows in my game at this tournament.”

“Our offense is also much stronger than other teams,” adds Ranjeeta, “We practice it throughout the year.”

Stack up all the factors above and the haze becomes clearer; the mystery demystifies. Patel admits that whenever the Chhattisgarh team plays in other states, basketball laymen and the local media don’t take them seriously, until they blink and realise a few days later that the team has become a championship contender.

You can keep away that microscope now: It should be no shock to anyone that Chhattisgarh produce India's most dominating girls' teams.

"We want to beat each team – we want to win each game in a one-sided fashion,” says Sangeeta Mandal, one of the stars of the Chhattisgarh junior girls squad, “We won’t leave this tournament without playing in the final, and then winning it.”

The secret is out. And just as ever, Chhattigarh girls' are the top contenders for the crown at Vashi, approaching their destiny just as they always have, with ruthless efficiency.

Junior National Championships 2010 at Vashi

43 teams from all across the country are here in Vashi (Navi Mumbai) right now for an 8-day long festival of hoops. This is the 61st edition of the IMG-Reliance National Championship for Junior Boys and Girls, and it tipped off at the Fr. Agnel Sports Complex on October 24th. 23 boys' teams and 19 girls' teams from different states and territories around the India are present. The Final of the tournament will be held on October 31st.

The championship has been organized by the Maharashtra Basketball Association under the aegis of Basketball Federation of India (BFI). Young deserving players will be selected to undergo intense training under the guidance of international coaches and facilities that are world class to help them develop their skills & game in the long run.

Rev. Alex Dais, Bishop of Andaman inaugurated the tournament.

Mr. Harish Sharma, Secretary, BFI said, “It has been our ongoing endeavor to promote basketball in India. We are certain that the Indian youth has immense potential to perform on a global stage. Championship like these help the young boy & girls showcase and develop their game. Going forward we will provided world class infrastructure & coaching facilities to all the promising players and work towards creating many such opportunities that will help us in developing basketball as a sport that is second to none.”

Commenting on the championship Mr. M. Venkatesh, Associate Secretary, Maharashtra Basketball Association said, “We are pleased to received participation in huge numbers from across the country. I believe The 61st National championship shall see fierce & exciting competition amongst teams; each and every team is ready to face on the challenge and deliver a game that will surpass the expectations of many. I am sure this championship will be a foundation stone for many young budding Basketball stars of tomorrow.

The organizers are providing the sport-court (synthetic) for the first time at the Junior National Championship. One of the coaches from the IMG-Academy, who had helped pick young Indian players for scholarship at the academy in Bradenton, Florida, will be in attendance to observe the tournament, too.

On the first day of games, the Karnataka Boys beat Kerala and Tamil Nadu Girls beat Madhya Pradesh. Girls reigning champions Chhattisgarh started off their campaigin in style, beating Uttar Pradesh 57-23, led by Shahranjeet's 24 points. Full results can be found here.

I will be brining comprehensive coverage of these championships from Vashi for both this blog and the BFI website. Also, check out the scores page at the BFI site to keep up with regular updates of results from the matches at the championship.