'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
After the inauguration ceremony on the opening day of the 66th Junior National Basketball Championship taking place in Ludhiana, Punjab, the home teams entered the indoor court at Guru Nanak Stadium for their first games of the tournament. The defending champions Punjab boys faced Rajasthan in their level 1 game in front of their home crowd. Many of the boys from the Punjab team have been trained at the same court here in Ludhiana.
Punjab came out strong in the first quarter, taking an early lead in the game. Their India camper Rahul Mehla led the way on the offensive end for the Punjab team. However, Rajasthan fought back in the middle periods relying on the scoring of former India player Mahipal Singh, who ended the game with 31 points. Towards the end though, Punjab took over the game with contributions from Ajit Poonia who scored 22 points in the game. In the end, the Punjab boys pulled off a 85-68 victory.
The Punjab girls team faced Delhi in their level 1 encounter yesterday evening. The match was a one-sided encounter with Punjab’s experienced campers Somi Kumari and Gagandeep Kaur scoring with ease. Delhi was blown out 56-24 by the Punjab team, who outscored Delhi in all four periods. Defending champions Chhattisgarh girls also began their campaign with a 81-45 victory against Madhya Pradesh, led by Vandana’s 26 points and Riya’s 25 points. The boys’ contingent of Chhattisgarh also started the tournament well with a comfortable 56-39 victory against Jammu and Kashmir.
On the morning of Day 2, the Uttar Pradesh girls continued their good form with their second victory of the tournament against Maharashtra. Vaishnavi top scored for the UP team with 22 points. The Haryana girls bounced back from their Day 1 loss with a victory against West Bengal in a high-scoring contest that ended 91-76. Bharti put up 33 points for Haryana, while Paulami put up 38 points for West Bengal in a losing effort.
The Tamil Nadu girls had their first game of the tournament today morning against Himachal Pradesh. Tamil Nadu made easy work of their opponent and registered a 63-29 victory on the basis of a balanced team scoring effort.
Results from Day 1 after 7:00 pm
Girls:
Level 1:
Group A:
Chhattisgarh (Vandana 26, Riya 25) bt Madhya Pradesh (Sibangi 11, Sakhya 10) 81-45 (12-14, 23-16, 17-4, 29-11)
Punjab (Somi Kumari 20, Gagandeep 12) bt Delhi (Ragnee 9) 56-24 (15-4, 9-7, 17-6, 15-7)
Level 2:
Group C:
Himachal Pradesh (Vishali 14, Disha Rana 7) bt Gujarat (Dharakakadiya 10, Daya Vaghjiyani 8) 42-38 (7-8, 7-10, 10-12, 18-8)
Group E:
Odisha (Suvanki S. 16, Saraswati B. 13) bt Uttarakhand (Riya Gothi 3) 45-5 (10-4, 18-0, 9-0, 8-1)
Group F:
Telangana (G. Nuthana 10, G. Kavya 8) bt Bihar (Juhi Kumari 7, Kajal Singh 6, Khushboo Hora 6) 24-19 (9-6, 7-2, 2-9, 6-2)
Boys:
Level 1:
Group A:
Punjab (Rahul 23, Ajit 22, Jaipal Singh 9) bt Rajashtan (Mahipal 31, Yogesh 10) 85-68 (19-10, 12-19, 30-24, 24-15)
Level 2:
Group C:
Chhattisgarh (Pankaj Pandey 19, Mukesh Yadav 10, Atul Chauhan 10) bt Jammu and Kashmir (Amanjot Singh 24, Rishabh Bakshi 6) 56-39 (18-10, 10-6, 16-6, 12-18)
Group F:
Chandigarh (Amit 19, Abhishek 14) bt Uttarakhand (Uday 4) 49-13 (21-2, 10-3, 11-4, 7-4)
Bihar (Nitesh KV 17, Vishnu K 10) bt Tripura (Shubhit 13, Harish SK 11) 53-32 (6-10, 10-11, 18-7, 19-4)
Results from morning session of Day 2
Girls:
Level 1:
Group B:
Uttar Pradesh (Vaishnavi 22, Shreyasi 12) bt Maharashtra (Shreya S. 12, Carina 10) 59-41 (17-7, 15-14, 16-7, 11-13)
Haryana (Bharti 33, Namrata 26) bt West Bengal (Paulami 38, Pratyusha 21) 91-76 (23-16, 18-25, 25-18, 25-17)
Level 2:
Group C:
Tamil Nadu (K. Prithi 14, S. Shreyanka 8) bt Himachal Pradesh (Arushi Sharma 9) 63-29 (17-14, 19-4, 11-7, 16-4)
Group E:
Odisha (Urbasi 16, Jayashree 12) bt Puducherry (Uma 6, Susanya 6) 53-23 (13-4, 16-3, 4-10, 0-6)
Group F:
Bihar (Khushboo 12) bt Tripura (Sonali 7) 22-12 (2-3, 8-0, 2-6, 10-3)
Andhra Pradesh (Haffijunnisha 17) bt Telangana (P. Akshitha 4) 43-4 (17-1, 10-0, 9-0, 7-3)
Boys:
Level 2:
Group C:
Himachal Pradesh (Keshav Sood 16, Arvind Rana 14) bt Jammu and Kashmir (Amanjot Singh 12) 60-37 (20-14, 13-8, 16-11, 11-4)
Guess the Lakers players!
