Exclusive: BFI President Aadhav Arjuna talks about his ambitious attempt to transform basketball in India

Basketball action got completed with the conclusion of Senior Nationals this year.

As the year 2023 draws to a close, Indian basketball appears to be on the brink of a significant metamorphosis. The newly instated leadership under Aadhav Arjuna is seemingly in the process of finding its footing.

In the course of the Senior National Basketball Championships 2023, Arjuna engaged in a conversation with Khel Now, shedding light on the present scenario of basketball and his strategies for its advancement.

KhelNow (KN): First of all, congratulations on being elected as the new BFI President. Can we expect quick actions from you in terms of developing the game as you have completed six months in office?

Aadhav Arjuna (AA): Our federation lacked financial stability six months ago. When I became the leader, we had only Rs. 17 lakhs in our account. That is not enough for such a large country. India loves basketball, but it is not organized or professional. We do not have a common code, training programs, leagues or events.

We need to consolidate our efforts. That is why we are collaborating with international corporations like the NBA, who are the best in this field. We are planning to launch a school league, college league, U-23 league, 3×3 league, and 5×5 league. We are also increasing the number of national tournaments, as one is not sufficient. We have to get ready for the Asia Cup window in February.

KN: The tenure of coach Veselin Matic ends in May and he has spent a long time nurturing and training the young players. Is there any possibility of him continuing his work in India?

AA: Definitely. We are having talks going on not only with coach Matic, but there are 2-3 additional coaches whom we are going to hire, especially for development of grassroots. Matic definitely will continue because he has experience in India for the last 4-5 years.

Earlier we used to conduct camps for 2-3 months. Hereafter, we have decided to keep camps for the whole season. Also, with the camp of 2-3 months, we can’t expect the results. Alongside this, players will get a chance to play in private-level international tournaments. We are ready to send our players to play in Gulf leagues, European leagues and other places.

KN: It’s a very pressing issue in terms of Indian basketball that there is a need for a professional basketball league in India. And you seem to have committed a lot of resources towards building that. How soon can we expect a professional league?

AA: Currently, we are working with more grassroots-level programs the 5×5 league is everything from the commercial perspective. Right now, we are not ready for the league actually. Compared to cricket, everyone focuses on the success of IPL, but they won the World Cup in 1983, and we are right now 83rd in the world. First, India needs to win a medal. The players have to get ready for the international standard level.

So that’s why we are more concentrated on grassroots-level programs schools and college league. Once we make a structure, once the players get ready at the international standard level, then the federation will to focus more on the league. For eg: Football League started very aggressively but right now they are stuck because there are no grassroots-level programs. The Indian football team is not in good rank at world level. So first, we have to focus more on grassroots level tournaments, then will focus on the league.

KN: So, talking about players going overseas, there is a small concern that if players go outside, they stay for 3-6 months at least which means they will be absent from their jobs.

AA: For the private leagues, the federation is going to send so there will be no problem in terms of getting permission from the government.

KN: What were the troubles you faced when you came in as the President?

AA: As a federation, we had no office, no structures and no financial support. We spent Rs. 3-4 crores, but saw no progress. We need at least Rs. 50 -60 crores to invest in our players, organizations, league and academy. We lack a proper academy at the moment, but we plan to establish one in the next 1-2 years. We want to emulate the success of athletics, which has benefited from institutions like the NBA and JSW. We are working towards building our academies.

KN: There are a lot of private academies such as NBA India, DBA and Dribble Academy to name some. Are there plans for any collaborations with them?

AA: Not just NBA, talks are going on with JSW and Reliance as well. We are going to soon put out an ad for a tie-up on social media and publication. Definitely will tie-up with everyone, every state.

KN: There have been some operational questions regarding you know, how the players have been treated. The level one teams have played in on the wooden court. But, other teams that are in the lower level haven’t got enough chance to play on the wooden court and they’re playing on a cement court. So, can we expect in the future that BFI would choose such places where there is better infrastructure and the players get more exposure to the international type of environment?

AA: I’m also a player, so I understand the concern of playing on cement court. But, BFI aims to spread the sport everywhere, not just the big cities like Ludhiana, Chattisgarh, Kolkata and others. The small cities have only one indoor or three outdoor courts, which is a huge problem. The game cannot happen in Chennai or Delhi, which have two indoor courts. We have already asked the state government for better facilities.

BFI is planning to buy permanent wooden courts from foreign companies before the next senior nationals. We should have at least one or two permanent indoor courts. We’ll replace the cement courts with wooden ones wherever possible.

KN: You inherited some conflicts among the associations, especially in Maharashtra. BFI wants to establish an office in Mumbai and reconcile with Maharashtra to form a team. How difficult was it to negotiate with both sides and reach a consensus?

AA: Maharashtra has a lot of corporate influence. It has been very influential. But, the state had many problems in the last decade, so I visited there. Jharkhand also had some issues before, but they were resolved. Haryana has an administrator appointed by the court right now. We will fix it in six months for sure.

Maharashtra’s problem is almost solved. The High Court ruled that BFI’s decision is final. The Maharashtra Basketball Association is an old association of 70 years. The new body somehow nullified the old one because of the registration certificate. Many Indian and state players came from the old one. The new association was only for a year. It was just nominal and on paper.

The old one is the right administration and BFI will talk to them. BFI will tell the old association to sort out the new election process and we are willing to appoint a retired High Court judge for impartial and fair elections. This will help form an association with democratically elected administrations and it will be a clean one.

KN: Numerous private entities and individuals are entering the field, aiming to expand their presence through streaming or personal statistics. However, for those who wish to broadcast these games and connect with a large audience, are there any strategies in place to integrate them into the system and consequently, contribute to the growth of the game?

AA: During the integration process, we launched dashboards and websites, enabling every player to register. We understand that without data, victory is unattainable. We’re in the process of establishing a new team and headquarters in Delhi for a data analytics team, aiming to revolutionize the game professionally. Our work is grounded in data and data analytics, as we believe that sports science is fundamentally mathematical.

As for broadcasting, BFI is independently telecasting and we have also partnered with Fancode. We are not charging any fees because we want the game to be accessible to all. Previously, we only permitted broadcasting on the BFI page, but now we are open to discussions with anyone willing to broadcast, intending to spread the game far and wide.

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