"With team's experience hopeful of contending for a medal,"says Lokendra Singh ahead of Hangzhou Asian Games

The youngster was part of the recently concluded FIBA U-18 3x3 World Cup.

India's rising basketball player and part of the "Band of Brothers" Lokendra "Loki" Singh first came into the limelight when India's U-16 boys finished fifth at the Asian Championships 2022. He was part of the core group who were the catalyst to achieve such a feat. Singh has also been part of the senior side and recently represented India at the FIBA U-18 3x3 World Cup.

Ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Lokendra Singh shared his views with Khel Now on the preparations for the Asian Games 2023 and much more.

Performance at FIBA U-18 3x3 World Cup

The cager still regrets the performance at the U-18 FIBA 3x3 World Cup and his teammates Kushal Singh, Jaideep Rathore and Harsh Dagar also share the same sentiment about their performance. It goes without saying how strong this group was and how close they were to finishing better than they did.

"All four of us have been together for a very long time and hence you see such a good camaraderie among us. We have the same chemistry off the court," said Singh when asked about how they are able to understand each other so well.

Lokendra directly reported to the camp after coming from the World Cup in Hungary and for the past month has been playing in 3x3. Asked if fatigue was an issue, he replied, "The conditioning here has helped us in recovery and we are now ready to go."

Preparations ahead of Hangzhou Asian Games

India's track record has been really good in the past, the senior and the junior team has played well. For the Asian Games, the team's confidence has been bolstered by Sahaij's experience, which is expected to be instrumental in their success. Lokendra and his teammates are confident about their chances of contending for a medal.

The hoopster highlighted the differences between 5x5 and 3x3 basketball playing style. "Both are different games. You don't even get to know when the game ends, do whatever you can in 10 mins in the latter."

The team has players who prefer going to the rim and lack shooting to which "Loki" replied, "We all are good shooters, if we shoot five, three of them will go in. But, sometimes you have a bad day, so at times driving to the rim works for us." Singh also said all four of us are capable of taking on defenders one-on-one.

The team also has a star talent in Princepal Singh, who was the only Indian NBA player to win a championship at any level. Lokendra shared the importance of Princepal in the team, "His post-game and rebounding helps the team to dominate in the paint. With the Asian Games rule that a 3x3 team should only have players aged under 23, this can be his first and last appearance alongside Sahaij."

When asked about watching the FIBA World Cup finals with all the staff and the BFI President, Aadhav Arjuna, he said, "It was a really good experience and a great initiative. The game can be practised on court, but the game culture built off the court will eventually develop on the court, and when someone like the BFI President sits and watches the game with us, it feels really good."

The youngster surprisingly prefers watching more European basketball than the NBA, which would delight many basketball purists. He was rooting for Serbia at the FIBA World Cup and used to watch games of Germany's Franz Wagner and Latvia's Arturs Zagras during the tournament. Lokendra reflected on the impact of unexpected outcomes in tournaments like the FIBA World Cup, highlighting that the basketball community benefits from diversity in winners rather than predictability.

Lokendra Singh emphasized the youth and talent of both 5x5 and 3x3 squads to be their strength at the Asian Games. "In 5x5, players like Shireen Limaye will help the women's team win a medal. For 3x3, players like Sekhon and Pranav Prince are expected to make significant contributions. Sekhon's experience and Pranav Prince's potential have raised high expectations," he concluded.