Basketball: FIBA under-16 tourney from today

The competition is being organised in India after most of the participating countries were reluctant to hold the inaugural edition of the championship.

“The teams were sceptical to host the championship as it was being held for the first time. Thus,we decided to step forward to host it. This is the second international tourney we will be hosting in the last two months – the Asian Championship for Women was held in Chennai in September.”

Sheikh Saud Ali al Thani,president of FIBA Asia,will inaugurate the games which are being conducted at a total cost of Rs 2 crore. Sharma said,“According to FIBA rules,only 12 teams were allowed to participate for the women’s tournament and the entries for the matches this year were on a first come first serve basis. The organisers also hope the tournament will give the game a boost at the basic school and college levels.”

The matches will be telecast live on Doordarshan. On the home team’s chances,Sharma said,“These are obviously untested waters for the home team but we are pretty sure of putting up a good show. It will prove to be a good opportunity for the team as they will get a chance to rub their shoulders against Asian teams like China,Japan and Korea who have dominated the game traditionally.”

India play Philippines in the opening match today. Placed in the relative tough Group A India will have to battle it out with teams like Hong Kong,China,Chinese Taipei,Philippines and Singapore.