32nd Youth National Basketball Championship tips off in Bhavnagar

Goa Player in yellow in on action against Himachal Pradesh

Bhavnagar, Gujarat, 14th September 2015: The 32nd Youth National Basketball Championship tipped off in Bhavnagar, Gujarat today morning. The week-long tournament is being conducted by the Gujarat State Basketball Association under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India.The tournament is scheduled from 14th to 20th September 2015 and shall see the participation of boys and girls teams in the ‘16 and under’ age category. Last year’s Youth National Championship was held in Chandigarh. The winners of the 2014 version were Tamil Nadu, in both the boys’ and girls’ categories, while the first runners up position was secured by the boys’ and girls’ teams from Kerala. The third place winner in the boys’ category last year was the team from Haryana. In the girls’ category, the third place winner last year was Karnataka.This year’s tournament is being held on two outdoor courts at Bhavnagar University. A total of 43 teams from different states will participate in this year’s version of the tournament, which includes 22 teams in the boys’ category and 21 teams in the girls’ category. Karp Impex Group, involved in the business of diamond polishing, crafting and sale and based out of Surat, Gujarat, is the main sponsor for the event.The first morning of the tournament saw defending champions in the girls’ category Tamil Nadu cruise to an easy victory over southern neighbours Andhra Pradesh. In the other Level 1 game in the girls’ category, Haryana pulled off an unlikely victory against last year’s runners up Kerala, on the back of Meena’s 22 points. In the only Level 2 girls’ game of the morning, Chandigarh handily beat Telangana 47-8.In the boys’ category, two Level 2 games took place, which were close contests. In their Group F fixture, Chandigarh edged past West Bengal 72-65 led by their captain Amit who scored a massive 42 points. Goa held on to a 7-point lead to clinch a 49-42 victory against Himachal Pradesh in their Group E game.

Girls:Level 1:Group A:Tamil Nadu (Amritha 11, Mirudhula 8) bt Andhra Pradesh (SK Chandini 4) 49-12 (19-3, 15-0, 13-4, 2-5)Group B:Haryana (Meena 22, Suriya 12) bt Kerala (Sreekala R. 11, Aneesha 11) 61-49 (18-14, 10-9, 19-10, 14-16)Level 2:Group E:Chandigarh (Amrit Kaur 20, Ramya Sharma 12) bt Telangana 47-8 (15-6, 16-0, 12-2, 4-0)Boys:Level 2:Group F:Chandigarh (Amit 42, Anuj Soni 11) bt West Bengal (S. Hussain 24, H. Singh 13) 72-65 (21-7, 21-17, 6-23, 24-18)Group E:Goa (Ray Cortez 16, Shaan Adanje 12) bt Himachal Pradesh (Ankush 16, Saksham 6, Chetan 6) 49-42 (13-14, 13-8, 9-9, 14-11)About Basketball Federation of IndiaThe Basketball Federation of India or BFI is the governing and controlling body of basketball in India, and is responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. BFI has been involved in conducting camps, clinics, events, and training sessions at its academies for the development of basketball. BFI came into being in 1935 and took complete control over Indian basketball in 1950. Prior to that time, the Indian Olympic Association handled the conduct of Indian basketball championships. Since 1950, the BFI has been conducting various such championships, from the grassroots to senior team participation in international tournaments. In addition, the BFI has been responsible for the establishment of strong sub-junior and junior level programs. The BFI has to its credit produced several international players of repute, among them 17 have been bestowed with the honour of Arjuna Awards. Earlier in June 2015, 19-year-old Satnam Singh Bhamara made history by becoming the first Indian national to be drafted by an NBA team, when he was selected by the Dallas Mavericks.