Indian U16 girls national basketball team to participate in the 4th FIBA Asia U-16 Championship

Modified Jul 24, 2015 18:52 GMT

The Indian squad

New Delhi (24 July 2015)

The Indian U16 Girls basketball team has been announced and is set to participate in the 4th FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship for Women in Medan, Indonesia from 2nd to 9th August 2015. The Indian team is led by Head Coach Abhay Chavan from Maharashtra, with assistance from Ms Divya Singh.

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.

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“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 Indian contingent will fly out to Indonesia later this month. 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. Govindraj, reiterated Mr. Sharma’s sentiment, “We are looking to build on the momentum started by the Senior Men’s National Team, which 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 have 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.”