India announce squad for FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2024

Young Cagers will open their campaign against South Korea.

The FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2024, a major youth basketball tournament, is set to take place in Amman, Jordan from September 2-9. This event, formerly known as the FIBA U18 Asian Championship, will see top young players from across Asia competing for glory.

Coach Scott Flemming, former India international Narendra Grewal, accompanies the team. This will be the first time Scott will coach a team after his return. He was announced as the head coach in the SABA qualifiers but didn’t do much of an active role.

The top four teams will earn spots in the 2025 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Switzerland. India, fresh from winning the SABA Qualifiers, will face tough competition in their group.

India’s first game is against South Korea, ranked 32nd globally. They will then play Iran, followed by Kuwait in their final group match. Kuwait is ranked lower than India in Asian standings.

India’s Schedule:

Group Stage

• Sept. 2 – South Korea vs India – 10:00 PM
• Sept. 3 – India vs Iran – 07:00 PM
• Sept. 4 – India vs Kuwait – 10:00 PM

India’s Squad for FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2024

Name	Role/State
Players
Ankush	Haryana
Mirthul Vel Dhanasekar	Tamil Nadu
Lavish	Haryana
Lokesh Kumar Sharma	Rajasthan
Abhimanyu Govindarajan	Tamil Nadu
Mohammad Ishan	Rajasthan
Rohan Shejwal	Madhya Pradesh
Sahibjit Singh	Punjab
Vedansh Ranot	UP
Gurmaninder Singh	Punjab
Harjeet Singh	Punjab
Sanju Gajbhijye	Chandigarh
Staff
Scott Flemming	Head Coach
Narendra Grewal	Coach
Vinodh PG	Coach
Vivek Kumar	Player Development Coach
Nithish Kumar	Physio
Jugraj Singh	Team Manager

Five new players – Ankush, Lokesh Sharma, Gurmaninder Singh, Harjeet Singh and Sanju Gajbhijye are added to the team replacing Nitesh Kumar, Ravinder Kaushik, Kirtiraj Chundawat, Jaddu Mann. Mann had a stellar show but failed to make the final cut.

Lavish was part of the historic 2022 U16 Indian team, which secured the highest-ever finish for India in U16 basketball. Lavish led several statistical metrics during the SABA qualifiers and had an impressive tournament from the perimeter, shooting 56% (9/16) from three-point range.

Also read: India’s journey at FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup 2024 ends with 4th place finish

India locked down their opponents effectively and were a defensive force throughout the tournament. Several players excelled in blocks and steals, with Mirthun Vel Dhanasekhar getting team-high 12. Their aggressive trapping defense suffocated opposing offenses, often forcing turnovers. Mohammed Ishan had a stellar performance, leading in total points (85), rebounds (53), blocks (12), and field goal percentage.

The Young Cagers also displayed excellent cohesion in playmaking, averaging a minimum of 15 assists per game. Their shot-blocking defense was the best in the qualifiers. They will be tested further in this tournament as they face higher-seeded teams.

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