FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023: India blow chance to progress

Published at :August 21, 2023 at 11:16 AM

Modified at :January 13, 2024 at 12:35 PM

The Indian hoopsters secured the third spot with seven points in the competition.

The Indian men’s basketball team finished a credible third at the recently-concluded FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023. After two successive victories against hosts Syria and Indonesia, the Indian cagers suffered three consecutive losses to finish the tournament with seven points; thereby ending their chances of qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

India’s Performance

After a few months’ hiatus from the International circuit, the Indian hoopsters were hoping for a positive return, starting with FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023. In the opening match, the Blue Cagers upset hosts Syria and continued their good form against lower-ranked side Indonesia. This unbeaten run helped India stay in touching distance for the top spot alongside Bahrain. Indeed, they were the only two countries to remain unbeaten post round 2.

Action recommenced post a day’s break but with a different result. India lost a close encounter to top-ranked side Kazakhstan by three points (70-73), which was the start of the losing streak. Fast forward, the Indian cagers lost the next two matches to Saudi Arabia (72-95) and Bahrain (66-79) respectively. The match against Kazakhstan in particular was a tight contest, as India had a two-point lead in the 36th minute, but couldn’t hold on, which was probably due to the lack of exposure to international matches and lack of playing in high pressure matches.

Positives

Close to 50% of the team consisted of youngsters, with Pranav Prince and Muthu Krishnan leading the charge. Others in the fray included Sekhon, Harsh Dagar and Dagar who played their roles whenever required throughout the tournament. Captain Vishesh Brighuvanshi was back in the squad after an injury layoff and slowly gathered pace as the tournament progressed. Although he wasn’t at his best, his comeback proviided experience and support to the squad.

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On the other hand, the lack of experience cost India in the finishing stages of matches. Against Kazakhstan in the third round, India opened their account only in the fifth minute, handing the opposition a nine-point advantage. In the last encounter, the Indian team had a seven-point lead, but Bahrain reversed the tables within the next few minutes. Lack of form during phases has hurt the team deeply and moving ahead they should look to maintain consistency throughout four quarters.

In the last encounter, the commentators were in praise of the Indian team and hoped for the young squad to gain from the experience and progress ahead.

Best Performers

Pranav Prince

Pranav Prince opened the tournament by scoring 21 points against Syria, becoming the top scorer of the match. He then went onto pile up 43 more points in the next four matches to finish with 64 and finish in the top 10 scorers list. The 20-year-old put up double-digit scores in four out of the five matches and averaged close to 13 points per match.

Muthu Krishnan

After just playing for close to four minutes in the opening match, the 23-year-old rose to the occasion against Indonesia, scoring 13 points. The match against Kazakhstan was one of his best, where he piled up 18 points to lead India’s charge, but was unfortunate to end up on the losing side.

He was involved in nine straight points out of which seven were scored by him along with an assist; which helped India overturn the deficit and take the lead. Muthu Krishnan did not have a good end to the tournament, as he could only muster two points against Bahrain, in 24 minutes on court.

Road Ahead

With the men’s 5*5 not getting the nod to participate at the Asian Games, it will be the 3*3 team to feature at the Asiad. Last time, India took part in an international 3*3 game was at the FIBA Asia Cup way back in March this year.

The team lost both matches and exited the tournament in the qualifying rounds. Arvind Muthu and Sahaji Sekhon from the current squad took part in the 3*3 Asia Cup and will most probably make it to the Asian Games squad as well. There won’t be any high expectations from the team and getting good game-time should be the target.

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