FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023: India 66-79 Bahrain Highlights

Published at :August 17, 2023 at 5:05 PM

Modified at :January 13, 2024 at 5:54 PM

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The Indian men’s basketball team will face Bahrain in their final of the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023 on Thursday. The chances of qualification to the next round of qualifiers is done and dusted for the Indian team after the loss to Saudi Arabia yesterday.

The blue colts started the tournament on a bright note upsetting hosts Syria and continued the fine form by defeating Indonesia in the following game. After a day’s break, India lost a close encounter to top ranked Kazakhstan by three points. Saudi Arabia thrashed India by a big margin and in the subsequent match Bahrain defeated Indonesia which sealed their spot for the next round qualifiers.

Bahrain is the only team to remain unbeaten and with a game in hand have already qualified. The young Indian side have shown good promise with several youngsters – Pranav Prince, Shekhon, Muthu Krishnan showcasing their skills. They will now look to end the tournament on a high and take forward the positives.

Only one team will advance from the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia. The team that tops the table at the end of the Asia leg will advance to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, scheduled to be held in 2024.

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The FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023 is taking place in Damascus, Syria. It kick-started on August 12 (Saturday). A total of six basketball teams are competing in the tournament. They are — India, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and hosts Syria. The tournament is being played in a single-legged round-robin format with only the team that finishes on top qualifying for the final round.

The Republic of Korea and Chinese Taipei were initially part of the tournament but pulled earlier this month. due to security concerns in violence-hit Syria. Their draw resulted in a change in the playing format. While teams were initially divided into two groups of four teams each, now teams will play each other at least once.

India, who are ranked 82nd, made it to the pre-qualifying event after qualifying for the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers. The Indian men’s basketball team will be led by Vishesh Bhriguvanshi.

Kazakhstan (65) are the highest-ranked nation in the tournament, followed by Saudi Arabia (68), hosts Syria (72) and Bahrain (84).

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