Date:14/09/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/09/14/stories/2004091401291900.htm

Sport - Basketball

China begins clear favourite

By Our Sports Reporter

BANGALORE, SEPT.13. All measures are being taken to ensure that the 18th Asian junior men's basketball championship runs smoothly after initial hiccups.

The change in the venue of the championship has put the organisers in a pressure situation. That an alternative venue, thanks to the efforts of the Hanumanth Nagar Corporator and MLA Chandrashekar, is ready for this mega event — the first of its kind in Karnataka — has redeemed Karnataka State Basketball Association (KSBA's) reputation.

The Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex has a compact look to it but its 1000-odd capacity can be a dampener for the followers of the game. Finishing touches are still being given to the venue and there is still some doubt if everything will be in place before the opener at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

Six matches are scheduled for each day and on the opening day with the inaugural ceremony squeezed in, one wonders how best the organisers can beat the heat.

The teams are all here and raring to go. China, which has won 12 out of the last 17 editions, is the clear favourite and the reigning champion enjoys an enviable average height of 6' 9". "We are going to go all out and wrest the honours once again," sounded Zheng Wu, the Chinese chief coach.

Chinese Taipei too looks a formidable outfit going by the little that its manager could convey, while Iran with the gangling Jaber Rouzbahani Darrehsari 7'4" tall in his socks, would hog a lot of attention.

No pushover

Man-to-man the rest of the challenge should even out although the host, India with a few good outings in the recent past should in no way be considered `pushover.'

B.S. Hooda the Indian coach, into his second year with the junior team for ABC, has had a good reading of the opposition.

With an average height of 6'5" the Indian boys too can look eye-to-eye with many of the rivals and it will then be up to what the team can come up on the given day.

"With five of the junior team in the Asia Cup championship in Bangladesh, last month and having had match practice with the Senior India team at the camp for over three weeks now, the boys are in the competition groove," feels Reginald Rajan, former India captain who is the manager of the team. "Consistency, however, will be very vital," he added.

In all, a 10-day feast of basketball is in store for the fans in Bangalore, be it at the Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex or the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, which till late on Monday night was waiting for the consignment of the wooden surface, from Chennai.

Today's schedule (Preliminary round league): Singapore v Kazakhstan, 9 a.m.; Japan v Iran, 11 a.m.; Saudi Arabia v China, 1 p.m.; Yemen v Qatar, 3 p.m.; India v Hong Kong China, 6.30 p.m.; Chinese Taipei v Kyrgyzstan, 8.30 p.m.