Indian U16 Girls Hoopsters Set to Leave for Indonesia for 4th FIBA Asia U-16 Championship for Girls

The Indian U16 team that will play at the Championships

New Delhi (30 July 2015): The Indian U16 Girls basketball team is set to participate in the 4th FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship for Women in Medan, Indonesia from 2nd to 9th August 2015. The team is all set to depart for Medan, Indonesia later today, and will return on 11thAugust 2015. To provide further exposure for the players, an exhibition match will be held on 10th August 2015 against the U-20 Indonesian Women’s Team, underlining friendly cooperation between the two Federations.

The Indian team is led by Head Coach Abhay Chavan from Maharashtra, with assistance from Ms Divya Singh. Staying true to the description of her position, point guard Nishanti Masilamani (Chennai) was chosen as captain of the team. Mr. Lalrinfela, Secretary General of the Mizoram Basketball Association, will travel with the contingent to represent the Basketball Federation of India as the Manager.

In the last edition of this biennial championship back in 2013, India had finished in 5th place repeating its position from the 2011 edition. Based on their top 6 finish in 2013, India will be grouped with fellow Level 1 teams of China, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and Thailand. The team will look to build on their previous two top five finishes to close the gap between regular Asian women’s powerhouses of Japan, China and Korea. “We have been practising at the Jaypee Greens Indoor facility since the 1st of July.” said Coach Chavan, who was the assistant coach of the side at the same event two years ago. “Last time we lost by heavy margins to the top teams. We expect to perform better this time around.”

The team has been training since 26th June 2015 at Atlantis – The Club at Jaypee Greens, Greater Noida (UP), widely considered the top basketball training facility in India. Even without the support of the Union Government or the Sports Authority of India, a smooth and efficient camp was organized. Various members of the Basketball Federation of India provided support to ensure the conduct of the camp, including BFI President K. Govindaraj, Secretary General of the BFI Chander Mukhi Sharma, Uttar Pradesh Basketball Association President Alok Sharma, Selection Committee Member and former Secretary General, Ajay Sud.

Speaking on the subject, Secretary General of the BFI, Mr. Chander Mukhi Sharma, stated, “We started with 80 girls from across India coming to Jaypee Greens for the Selection Trials, and these 12 girls proved, through hard work and dedication, that they were the best of the lot. We wish them and the support staff the best of luck in the upcoming Championship, they have the full support and encouragement of the Indian basketball family behind them.”

President K. Govindaraj reiterated Mr. Sharma’s sentiment, “We are looking to build on the momentum started by the Senior Men’s National Team, who won the Gold Medal at the 4th SABA Championship earlier this month, and we’re excited for these young girls and the basketball community. The U-16 Girls been provided one of the top practice facilities in India to train and we look forward to their performance during the event. The new BFI leadership is and will remain committed to supporting the youth players of our country, as they will be the foundation of talent over the next 10-15 years.”

INDIAN CONTINGENT FOR THE 4TH FIBA ASIA U-16 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR GIRLS 2015

Sr. No.	First Name	Position*		Place of Birth & State	Jersey Number
1	Neha Vinod Shahu		PF	Boisar, Maharashtra	11
2	Rutuja Jaywant Pawar		PG/SG	Satara, Maharashtra	30
3	Vaishnavi Yadav		SG	Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh	4
4	Ria Sharon		C	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	23
5	Snigddha Nair		SG/SF	Johrat, Karnataka	98
6	Sushantika Chakravortty		C	Delhi	29
7	Ishwarya Janardhan		SG/SF	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	10
8	Nishanthi Masilamani		PG	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	14
9	Shrishti Suren		PF	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	99
10	Namrata Hooda		SG	Kiloi Khas, Haryana	8
11	Shreyasi Vats		SG/SF	Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh	9
12	Sandhya Chandahalli Raju		SG	Mandya, Karnataka	15
COACHING STAFF
13	Abhay Madhukar Chavan		Head Coach	Pune, Maharashtra
14	Divya Singh		Coach	Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
15	Lalrinfela		Manager	Aizawl, Mizoram
16	Shilpa Choudhary		Physiotherapist	Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
17	Vaibhav Singh		Referee	Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
18	Snehal Vidyadhar Bendke		Referee	Kolhapur, Maharashtra

*C= Centre, PF= Power Forward, SF= Small Forward, SG= Shooting Guard, PG= Point Guard

INDIA’S SCHEDULE

India’s schedule at the FIBA Asia Championship will be as follows:

2nd August 15: vs Korea at 1pm local time (11:30am IST)

3rd August 15: vs Japan at 3pm local time (1:30pm IST)

4th August 15: vs China at 5pm local time (3:30pm IST)

5th August 15: vs Thailand at 1pm local time (11:30am IST)

6th August 15: vs Chinese Taipei at 1pm local time (11:30am IST)

7th August 15 will be a rest day followed by the knockout rounds on 8th and 9th August 2015.