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Pune, Jan 19: Punjab and Tamil Nadu shared honors, winning two gold medals each on the final day of basketball at the Khelo India Youth Games 2019.
The Under-17 section had Punjab stamp their mark, while Tamil Nadu did well to top in the Under-21 section, which included dashing the hopes of Punjab winning a treble.
In logging the highest score of the day, Punjab eased past Rajasthan 91-78 for the Under-17 title. Punjab’s march was led by Navkaman Singh (28 points) before Rishab Mathur (30 points) pushed the scoring to cut the huge 29-point half time lead to a 13-point final margin.
In the girls' U-17 final, Harsimran Dhami led Punjab from the front to down Tamil Nadu 76-71 in a close contest. Harsimran with 45 points in her kitty was the highest scorer among all finalist teams.
The encounter was close with Punjab keeping marginally ahead. At the end of the first quarter, Punjab led 18-15, then doubled their lead to 33-27 at the halfway stage. All throughout the encounter, Tamil Nadu despite the efforts of Sathiya (23 points) and Nikita (10 points), fell short in catching up. At the turn of the third quarter, Punjab led 52-42, which later was reduced at the final hooter.
The Under-21 section saw Tamil Nadu turn the tables on Punjab to win 70-59. Trailing 12-20 at the end of the first quarter, Tamil Nadu kept scoring every time they attacked and capitalized on Punjab’s inability to score.
At half-time, Tamil Nadu caught up with Punjab and steered seven points (35-28) clear which turned out to the turning point of the match.
Thereafter, Tamil Nadu with Hairam (19 points) and Arvind Kumar (18 points) leading from the front finished off the game with ease.
In a battle of southern states in the girls' section, Tamil Nadu added their second gold of the day downing Karnataka 82-68. Pushpa Senthilkumar (27 points) was a stand-out performer for the winners, while Bahdavyam (21 points) was the top scorer for the Karnataka team.
RESULTS
Boys' Under-17, Final: Punjab 91 (Navkaman Singh 28, Rajan 22, Avinder Singh 20, Mannatpreet Singh 11) bt Rajasthan 78 (Rishab Mathur 30, Rajveer Bhati 18); HT: 55-29
Bronze: Kerala 71 (Aaron Blessen 20, Niyath 17, Jeoram George 17) bt Haryana 59 (Vikrant 21, Ashok 14, Sahil 14); HT: 37-29
Girls’ Under-17, Final: Punjab 76 (Harsimran Dhami 45, Sapna 10) bt Tamil Nadu 71 (Sathiya 23, Nitika 12, Steffie Anges 10); HT: 33-27
Bronze: Kerala 79 (Akshaya Philip 34, Ann Mary Zachariah 17) bt Maharashtra 68 (Suzanne Pinto 21, Karina Suryawanshi 13, Shruti Bhosale 10); HT: 41-27
Boys’ Under-21, Final: Tamil Nadu 70 (Hairam 19, Arvind Kumar 18, Daniel Richards 11) bt Punjab 59 (Ajay Kumar 21, Princepal Singh 12); HT: 35-28.
Bronze: Kerala 79 (Sejin Mathew 28, Muhammed Noushad 22, Grigo Verghese 13) bt Maharashtra 73 (Sameer Qureshi 18, Vinayak Kunchikarve 15, Akshay Kahrat 11); HT: 36-30
Girls’ Under-21, Final: Tamil Nadu 82 (Pushpa Senthilkumar 27, Dharshini 18, Nishanthi 11) bt Karnataka 68 (Bahdavyam 21, Lopamudra. K 17, Harshita B 13, Suphritan 11); HT: 45-43
Bronze: Kerala 60 (Jayalaxmi V.J 27, Aleena Seby 10) bt Uttar Pradesh 34 (Dovllbhi Sahu 13, Pooja Yadav 11); HT: 29-17
