In Balewadi,basketball gets a boost

On the selection of this particular venue,Lalit Nahata,general secretary of the PDBA,said,“We needed an indoor court so that the rains would not affect the schedule of matches,” he said. “This is because the national championship in Madhya Pradesh is coming up in September,so we had a small time-frame to conduct the tournament and could not afford to wait for better weather,” he said.

Safety of the young players was the second motive behind the choice of the table tennis hall,as the rubber mat that was laid out for the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games provides ample cushioning that will prevent injuries to a great extent,Nahata said.

Basketball has always been a popular sport in Pune,especially in recent years,prompting the association to give the state’s youngsters an exposure to such facilities.

“It might seem quite an unusual move on our part,to provide such a privilege to young preteens who are just getting into the game,where ordinarily only established senior players would be provided with such a world-class facility at the national or international level,” Nahata stated. “However,our intention was to give a boost to the sport right at the grassroots level,and to inspire these fledgling basketballers to hone their skills and become good enough to practice on such courts throughout their careers,” he smiled.

Besides the age of the players,the areas of the state from which a large majority of the players hail was also on the PDBA’s mind when they pitched Balewadi as a venue.

“For teams from districts such as Ratnagiri,Latur and Amravati,playing on it is a nice experience,” Nahata said,adding that the convenience of having all the players staying on campus thanks to the spacious hostel arrangements at the complex is also a factor that will ensure that the tournament is conducted efficiently.