The Hindu : Sport / Basketball : Junior National begins today

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 12, 2007
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Sport

Sport - Basketball

Junior National begins today

Special Correspondent

ANANTAPUR: The junior National basketball championships for boys and girls under 18 years will be held at the District Sports Authority indoor and outdoor stadia in addition to the Police Parade Ground from June 12 to 19.

About 516 players representing 22 boys and 21 girls teams will be in the fray that will set the selection process rolling for next year's junior Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) championships.

P.J. Sunny, Chairman, Selection Committee, Basketball Federation of India (BFI) said that although players born on or after January 1, 1989 were eligible for the junior Nationals, the focus would be on those born on or after January 1, 1990 to meet the needs of the junior ABC event. Age verification would therefore be strict this time, he said, the process being well under way at the time of going to press.

Camp at Bangalore

FIBA coach Bucan Alexander from Serbia will take charge of the selected junior players for a camp likely to be conducted in Bangalore and will be here on June 15. Among the BFI's top brass to witness the action are National coach K.K. Chansoria, G.M. Sampath Kumar, Chairman, Technical Commission and FIBA Commissioner, Norman Isaac.

Matches will commence at 6 a.m. on Tuesday and continue through the day on the swanky wooden floor court of the indoor stadium. Classification will be upto eighth place with Cosco being the official ball for the week-long event.

State Minister for Panchayat Raj, J.C. Diwakar Reddy will be chief guest for the inaugural function at the Police Parade Ground on Tuesday at 5 p.m., while N. Sridhar, Collector and District Magistrate will preside. State Sports Minister R. Damodar Reddy will felicitate G.M. Sampath Kumar on the occasion.

The groupings: Boys: A: U.P., Rajasthan, Punjab, MP; B: Delhi, Chattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana; C: Chandigarh, J & K, Karnataka; D: Kerala, HP, Orissa; E: Jharkhand, Gujarat, Pondicherry, Bengal; F: Maharashtra, AP, Tripura, Uttaranchal.

Girls: A: Chattisgarh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Chandigarh; B: Delhi, Kerala, MP, Tamil Nadu; C: Karnataka, J & K, Jharkhand; D: U.P., HP, Pondicherry; E: AP, Haryana, Rajasthan; F: Orissa, Gujarat, Uttaranchal, Bengal.