Interview with Vishesh Bhriguvanshi: "FIBA result should act as catalyst for setting up domestic league"

Bhirguvanshi led India to a eighth placed finish at the event

Last month, the Indian national basketball team recorded their highest ever finish at the FIBA Asian Championship, defeating some of the contienent's finest teams. An important figure in their success was Captain Vishesh Bhriguvanshi. The 24-year old had the tournament’s second highest average assist rate of 4.8.

That piece of statistic becomes even more relevant, considering the fact that India were knocked out in the quarter-finals. For a country, that is yet to establish a domestic league, the result highlights the existent talent within it’s geographical proximity. The national team is now ranked 53rd out of 100 actively playing nations.

Despite boasting of hoopsters such as Satnam Singh, Amjyot Singh and Amritpal Singh, who ply their trade abroad, India is yet to create a structure to consistently develop and channelise talent. The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is still dealing with infighting issues as the governing body has been divided into two warring factions.

With sporadic national championship events and even lesser international exposure, Sportskeeda spoke to India’s Captain about the Asian Championship journey and the sport’s future in India.

Q. Was providing assists during the tournament something you specifcally looked at?

I wouldn't say it’s something I specifically looked at. Our main aim was to create set plays and execute them during the tournament. Most of the time I found myself in the point guard position, which required me to find the final pass. As a player, you obviously want to always score, that’s what one thinks about. However, you have to mould yourself according to your strengths and the team’s requirements. My statistics are only a manifestation of that.

Q. After Scott Flemming’s departure, most people wrote India off, do you think his coaching still has an impact on the team?

Yes, definitely, I mean whatever we have learned or grown till date it’s because of him. His departure really affected us because for two to three years, we were growing like anything. Our fitness, scoring ability, defensive prowess, everything was going a notch up. Last year’s victory against current champions China, highlighted our steady growth. Our ranking might have gone up, but that is because of what all we learned in the last two years. If we played the way we had played against China last year, in the South Korea game, i assure you the result would have been very different. The techniques we use are still the same, our current coach is building on that.

Q. What are your thoughts on the infighting issues within the BFI?

Honestly, I ama player, I concentrate on my game only. I can’t say much on how everything is being run. However, yes the recent issues have had an impact on the sport in India. Players are not being released for national camps. One faction send one list, the other sends one more. There is utter confusion, even Coaches don’t know what to do. As national team players, we hope it is fixed immediately.

Q. Despite the national team‘s success, there is no professional league in India. When do you think that's going to happen?

I think our result this time should act as a catalyst for the setting up of a professional league. We need Indian players playing through the year, in regular tournaments. Not just that we also need players coming from abroad, to play here, so that we can learn more. Even Qatar has a pro-league, and I assure you we can beat them. We need to plan for the future. It’s difficult because not every player will be scouted by international teams, so we should look at developing more talent for better results in the future.

Q. What plans for the rest of the calendar year?

I wish we could say that we have a calendar year, but we don't. So, no tournaments for the next 1.5 months. Prior to the nationals, we practiced 3-4 months straight, apart from Amjyot and Amrit Pal, who joined us for the camp later. Will use the one month gap to relax and then begin training for the national championships in December.