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Sweet double for Indian Railways

K. Keerthivasan

The men’s team beat Tamil Nadu 75-70 in an exciting match

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Double delight: It was a memorable day for Indian Railways as it won both the men’s and women’s team titles in the 59th senior National basketball championship at Surat on Thursday.

SURAT: The Karp-Jyoti 59th Senior National basketball championship title, which concluded at the Indoor Municipal Stadium here on Wednesday, belonged to the Indian Railways.

With their dazzling skills, the Railways’ men and women stamped their authority in style. While the men’s team defeated Tamil Nadu 75-70 in a strategically exciting match, its women’s side had the measure of Delhi 71-53 to claim its sixth straight title. Railways men last won the title in Pune two years back.

Tamil Nadu nurtured hopes of a victory and remained in the contest till late in the match, attacking through S. Robinson. Leading by a point (57-56), Tamil Nadu suffered a big blow in the third quarter when forward Chandrasekaran, who was peaking with his three-pointers for which he is famous for, had to sit out for committing his fifth and final foul. The momentum, as it happens in such close contests, shifted completely in Railways’s favour. Mihir Pandey provided a ray of hope shooting from long-range, but it came a tad late.

Railways’s doesn’t have a player in the calibre of Robinson, or the shooting abilities and flamboyance of Riazuddin and Trideep Rai of Uttarakhand, or the speed and style of Sambhaji Kadam of Services.

Fighting spirit

What it did have, which others failed to put up in the championships, was the fighting spirit. Yadwinder Singh turned out to be the star for Railways in the final. His unique ability to bend his upper back and shoot baskets has been the feature of the tournament.

His 27 points in the summit clash was an apt example of his superior skills.

The determination and ease with which Snehpal Singh and Gagandeep Singh could drive-in at will showed TN’s defence in very poor light.

Tamil Nadu did have its moments when it led 22-14 in the first and 36-34 in the second. One was left wondering what had happened to Vineeth Revi Mathew.

His failure to shoot and his inability to impose himself could be attributed in part to Tamil Nadu’s loss.

Most attribute Railways’ win to Geethu Anna Jose contribution. No doubt the star international has proved her worth time and again. But there were others who put their heart and soul into the contest.

Against Delhi, P. Anitha and captain Anju Lakra were equally responsible for Railways’s superb show as they manned the defence and executed set-piece moves that confused the Delhi women.

For the first time in the history of Nationals, cash prizes were awarded.

The men’s and women’s champions took home Rs. 1 lakh each while the second and third-place winners got Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 25,000 each. Nawal Kumar Sharma, Governor of Gujarat, gave away the prizes.

The results:

Men: Final: Indian Railways 75 (Yadwinder Singh 27, Snehpal Singh 19, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 14) bt Tamil Nadu 70 (S. Robinson 27, Chandrasekaran 15, Mihir Pandey 13); Third place: Uttarakhand 72 (Riazuddin 20, Murli Krishnan 16, Trideep Rai 11) bt Services 60 (Jai Ram Jat 17, K. Vipin 15, S. Settu 11).

Women: Final: Indian Railways 71 (Geethu Anna Jose 32, P. Anitha 16, S. Manisha 13) bt Delhi 53 (Shiba Maggon 14); Third place: TN 61 (S. Kokila 19, Neena Hareendran 12, G. Deepa 10) bt Chhattisgarh 51 (L. Deepa 23, Kavitha 11).

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