Sport - Basketball

Robinson not to play for India, TN

KOCHI: Three years ago, he was the toast of the nation. A one-man scoring machine who helped India stun Asian giant South Korea in the FIBA Stankovic Cup basketball tournament in Taipei and during majors in the last few years, he carried the country’s hopes on his strong shoulders.

Today, S. Robinson, Indian basketball’s biggest star, is a bitter man.

The two-year ban imposed on him by the Tamil Nadu Basketball Association for missing the National championship’s State camp last December, has changed him in a big way.

“I’m not going to play for Tamil Nadu anymore. And I’ve also put a full stop to my international career,” said the 27-year-old former Indian captain who helped Tamil Nadu to five senior National titles.

“I’ve gone through so much in a last one year. Everybody has a saturation point… I’ve crossed that. From now on, I’ll just play for my club and institution,” he said.

The Chennai-based Robinson was here as a special guest at The Choice School’s sports day.

“A lot of strange allegations have been thrown at me. Our General Manager, Prem Lamech, has decided to fight my suspension legally,” Robinson, who left Indian Overseas Bank and joined Writer-India as its Business Development Manager recently, said.

“Our club Writer also plans to change its base to either Bangalore or Puducherry.”

Robinson sunk in 36 points — almost half the team’s total — in that Stankovic Cup stunner against South Korea, but he said, “basketball is not a one-man show. And time doesn’t stop for anyone.

“We need to change… when every country is changing, bringing in pro leagues, making the sport glamorous, why not we? We still play on outdoor cement courts and we don’t have a pro league though we’ve been talking about it for years.

“Ten years from now, I’m sure the situation will be the same.

I’ve given up on Indian basketball,” Robinson added.

With the two-year TNBA ban stopping him from playing in the State, Robinson now realises that the time has come to take care of his life.

“I’ve had a long look at my career. This is a sort of transition period for me, the teenaged guy has gone, I’m a more matured person now, money makes a major difference,” said the Indian centre who played in the Maldives League last month.

“The leg injury I suffered during the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne early last year was a warning for me.

Nobody bothers about the players. A few years ago, Gopinath was the No. 1 controller in the country, but he was forgotten after he had a knee injury at the National camp in 2003. I’ve now decided to concentrate on my job.

“Still, that doesn’t mean my dedication to basketball has gone any less, I still practise and go to the gym to stay fit. And I might take up coaching after a few years,” Robinson said.

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