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- Mahindra NBA Challenge to Further Grow Basketball in India and Engage Communities -
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Mahindra Group – one of India’s largest and most respected companies – will tip off the Ludhiana leg of the Mahindra NBA Challenge on July 31. The Mahindra NBA Challenge, hosted in collaboration with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), is a five-on-five, community-based league that gives youth the chance to learn basketball fundamentals in a fun, competitive environment. The Mahindra NBA Challenge marks the NBA’s first-ever event in Ludhiana.
The league runs for seven weeks and features multiple divisions: boys and girls ages 14-17 and men and woman ages 18 and over. The BFI will work with the NBA to implement and oversee league operations.
Ludhiana is the third and final league to launch as part of the inaugural Mahindra NBA Challenge. The league in Mumbai – which culminated in early June – attracted more than 1,000 participants, while the league in Bangalore launched on July 17 with more than 85 of the top teams from across the city.
“The inaugural Mahindra NBA Challenge has been exceedingly well received in India and we are looking forward to launching the league in Ludhiana. This format helps us promote the sport at the grassroots level which has been the core of our beliefs,” said Deputy General Manager of the Mahindra Group Mr. Mufaddal Choonia. “The NBA is the perfect partner to help us bring communities together and promote healthy, active lifestyles to Indian youth.”
The Mahindra NBA Challenge will tip off at the Gurua Nanak Stadium and fans can get all the latest news and updates by visiting http://www.facebook.com/MahindraNBAChallenge. The league will feature round-robin play, with teams playing one game per week over a seven-week season. The Ludhiana champions will be determined in a weekend-long postseason tournament on September 25 and 26 played at the Gurua Nanak Stadium.
“The NBA is committed to developing the sport of basketball in India and we want to thank our partners at Mahindra and BFI for helping to launch our first community league in the country,” said NBA President of International Heidi Ueberroth. “We were delighted to see the incredible enthusiasm of the participants during the first two legs of the Mahindra NBA Challenge, and we look forward to seeing a similar level of passion for basketball when the league launches in Ludhiana.”
“As basketball continues to grow in popularity across India, the Mahindra NBA Challenge gives youngsters in multiple cities the opportunity to play in an organized league and further develop their skills,” said BFI Secretary General Harish Sharma. “Our collaboration with Mahindra and the NBA on this program has been a success and we look forward to creating more basketball development programs together as basketball solidifies as a permanent part of India’s sports landscape.”
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