The Hindu : India exudes confidence

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 09, 2003

Sport

Sport - Basketball

India exudes confidence

By Rakesh Rao

NEW DELHI JULY 8. Confidence is in plenty in the Indian camp here on the eve of the four-day qualifying tournament for the next Asian basketball championship (ABC).

To make the 16-Nation field, India has to reach the final of the Middle Asia Zone qualifying round beginning at the NDMC Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday. The six teams in the fray are divided into two groups. Going by the looks of it, India should have no problems in topping the group ahead of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The first real challenge for the host will come in the semifinal where it would face either Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan, the two teams that are tipped to advance to the semifinal from the other group. The finalists will join 14 teams, including six seeded nations, in the Asian championship from September 23 to October 2 in China.

Though not much is known about the strengths of the two countries from Central Asia, the Indian coach K.J. Chansoria was upbeat about the home team's chances.

"We have a team that has a good mix of youth and experience. The average age of the team is about 22 while the average height of the boys is about six-feet-five-inches,'' was Chansoria's assessment of the Indian team.

Talking about Parminder Singh, the 35-year-old veteran in the team, the coach said, "you'll be surprised to see a `new' Parminder now. Unlike the days in the past, Parminder will not be seen shooting only from close. He has been working very hard on his shooting and I am very confident of his contribution to the team. Unfortunately, Shabbir Ali will be missed.'' Shabbir injured his right knee during the month-long camp at Hyderabad.

In the Asian championship, two years ago in China, India had beaten Uzbekistan and eventually finished eighth. For several years, in the absence of a third participating nation in the qualifying phase, India and Uzbekistan have been taking the two slots without really working for it. For the first time, as many as six nations have made it to this qualifying tournament.

On Tuesday evening, the court was getting the finishing touches after the venue was officially handed over to the organisers. Since key teams like Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are expected to arrive only on Wednesday morning, the action will commence only in the evening.

On the opening day, India takes on Bangladesh, followed by the tie between Uzbekistan and Nepal.

Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) Secretary Harish Sharma announced that should the Indian men qualify, they would travel to Belgrade for a preparatory trip from August 10 to 25, before leading to the Asian championship.

"We have been offered at least five practice matches against the top Belgrade clubs,'' said Mr. Sharma. Mr. Sharma, back after attending the FIBA Asia Executive Board meeting on Monday at Doha, said, "initially there was a bid to cut down the number of qualifying teams from two to one but the idea was held back after India and several other countries expressed their reservations. In fact, the move to let only five seeded teams play the women's Asian championship was also shot down. As a result, when Japan hosts the championship in January next, the Indian women will be part of the field.''

He also spoke about Indian coaches getting two clinics. The first one would be conducted by Malaysian national coach Tan Se Wah during the course of this championship. The other one would be held under Draft Young in November, said Mr. Sharma and added that Mr. Young had been with the Kuwait team for over two decades.

The groups:

Group `A': India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Group `B': Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Nepal.

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