Amjyot Singh: The meteoric rise of Indian basketball's future superstar

India’s biggest prospect

Last year, the Indian national basketball team shocked heavyweights China by defeating them 65-58 at the 2014 FIBA Asian Basketball Championship. Despite the absence of a professional league in the country, India managed to oust a China team that had several players plying their trade in the NBA.

However, the outstanding performances of one player shone brighter than the rest. At just 22 years of age, Amjyot Singh led from the front and scored the most number of points (13) for the team.

His stellar performances at the International level have seen him earn a professional contract with Japanese league side Hyogo Storks, along with team-mate Amritpal Singh. The duo began their journey in the Japanese Development League with Hyogo and slowly moved up the ranks to earn a professional contract.

It’d be surprising to note, then, that basketball was not SIngh’s first choice.

The shift from cricket to basketball

Amjyot says, “In all honesty, I didn’t event know the rules of basketball or even thought of playing the sport ever. Like every other child, my parents first put me into cricket. I was practising as a bowler, but unfortunately I sustained an injury, which would hamper my cricketing growth. It was then that my school coach Ajitkaran Singh asked me to take up basketball because of my height.”

In 2007, Amjyot took his first baby steps into the sport by appearing for his school team and since then, his career has seen a meteoric rise. In 2008, he easily graduated to the state team and then onto the national junior team, where he would go on to represent India in the Youth Games the very same year. Within two years’ time, he was captaining the junior side. By 2011, Amjyot had cemented his place in the senior team.

In a span of four years, Amjyot went from not knowing about the sport to making the national team. He says, ”In hindsight, I’m really happy I got that injury; if I wouldn’t have gotten that injury, I probably wouldn’t be talking to you right now. It was a combination of my efforts, and of course, those of my coaches and my parents, who supported me financially. That’s how I have made it this far.”

During the FIBA Asia Cup, Amjyot was central to a controversy that shook the very foundation of basketball. While the Indian players were warming up for their encounter against Japan, FIBA officials decided to invoke the ‘no headgear’ rule. This meant that both Amjyot and Amritpal had to remove their turbans if they wanted to continue.

Sadly, the harsh rules meant that both the players could not be part of the line-up. India would go on to lose that game, due to the absence of both their best offensive and defensive players.

Amjyot says, “We were asked to leave the court and we were shocked. I mean, how was wearing a turban going to enhance my performance in the game, since form-wise we were the best players in the team? It was shocking that the clause should be applicable to head gear, which they believe allows your performance to get better.”

Section 4.4.2 of the FIBA rule book states, "Players shall not wear equipment (objects) that may cause injury to other players." Even by this rule, it didn’t make sense as the turban couldn’t possibly harm an opponent.

The past couple of years have been breakout ones for India. After the Asia Cup triumph, 19-year-old Satnam Singh Bhamara became the first Indian to sign for an NBA franchise, when he put pen to paper for Dallas Mavericks. That was a feat which will go down as one of Indian basketball’s proudest moments.

However, the situation back home in India is not ideal for potential basketball players to thrive.

Satnam was hand-picked by the IMG Academy and he groomed his skills in the finest of facilities in USA. But that particular opportunity is not available for everyone. That is what makes Amjyot’s move to Japan even more commendable. Prior to his Japan move, he had played no professional basketball whatsoever.

The Indian conundrum

Amjyot says, “Unless you’re extremely talented, basketball in India has no scope. Until we introduce a proper league for the sport, we will always be considered as amateur players. Yes, there are teams such Indian Overseas Bank and ONGC trying to develop the sport, but unless you convert it to professional, there is no point. The grassroot level is the biggest problem for us.”

Amjyot stressed on the infrastructural potency of Japan, highlighting key points that the Indian administration can learn from. He said, “India has a lot of talent and I can vouch for it, I see players giving it their 110 per cent everyday and getting better. All they need is a sense of direction and a league where they can hone their skills. If we were also picked up by a foreign academy, we would also have groomed our skills.”

To add to the existing problems, the Basketball Federation of India is now functioning as two different bodies and has been asked by the Sports Ministry not to conduct any tournaments until the internal conflict is resolved. Divided into factions, the K V Govindraj section and the Poonam Mahajan section are both trying to stake their basketball governance claim, but at great cost to the Indian basketball youth.

Amjyot adds, “It’s not an ideal situation, people should be solely concentrating on growing basketball. Both federations running simultaneously is a problem as coaches are not being allowed to enter camps due to being accused of being from one faction, so yes it is very detrimental for basketball in the country.”

Now plying his trade at Storks, Amjyot, along with Amritpal, graduated from the team’s subsidiary developmental squad known as Hyogo Impulse. Amjyot says, “The difference between both domestic sturcutres is like land and sea. Even in the D-league, there is so much attention to detail. Our national team doesn’t have 25% of this and we still beat them, just imagine if they were provided with what we get here, we will go places.”

Amjyot has currently undergone a pivotal transition in his Japanese experience as he will be now competing for a place in the main team. He said, “It was easier in the D-league, but now we have a lot of competition and we want to prove ourselves against the best the country can offer. I can only learn from this experience and go back and apply it with my national team.”

With the FIBA Asian Championship scheduled for September this year, Amjyot will be a key component for their success again. The Indian team is in Group A with Iran, Malaysia and Japan.

Amjyot is a standout talents, with the potential to reach the NBA as his performances have highlighted. It is about time the BFI and Sports Ministry plan a professinal league so India can retain its talent.