• Senior India women’s team faced the under-18 Karnataka squad in an exhibition match as warm up for the upcoming FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium.
  • The successful conduct of the exhibition game highlighted the level of readiness of the refurbished Kanteerava stadium ahead of the two prestigious FIBA events to be hosted by Bengaluru later this year.
  • The match was played in the presence of Honourable Mayor of Bengaluru Smt. Padmavathi, along with BFI’s senior functionaries Mr. K Govindaraj (President), Mr. Chander Mukhi Sharma (Secretary General), and Mr. Rajneesh Goel (Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka).
  • The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has allotted two FIBA Asia Championships to the BFI this year – the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2017 and the FIBA U-16 Women’s Asian Championship.  Both will be held in Bengaluru.
  • The FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2017 will be held from 23rd to 29th July  while the FIBA U-16 Women Asian Championship 2017 will be held from 22nd to 28th October.
  • This will mark the first time since 2009 that a FIBA Asia Championship will be held on Indian soil.

Bengaluru, 13th May 2017: As the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup fast approaches, the Senior India women’s team suited up yesterday to face the under 18 girls’ Karnataka squad in an exhibition warmup game. The match was played in the presence of Honourable Mayor of Bengaluru Smt. Padmavathi along with Mr. K Govindaraj, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary to Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka, and President – Basketball Federation of India; Mr. Chander Mukhi Sharma, Secretary General – Basketball Federation of India; and Mr. Rajneesh Goel, Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Karnataka.

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) had earlier announced that India had been allotted to host two international events in 2017- the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup and FIBA U-16 Women’s Asian Championship.  This will be the first time since 2009 that India will be hosting a major International Basketball Federation (FIBA) event.  The FIBA Women’s Asia Cup will be held from 23rd to 29th July 2017, while the FIBA U-16 Women’s Asian Championship will be held from 22nd to 28th October 2017. Both these events will be held in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

The successful conduct of the exhibition game highlighted the level of readiness of the refurbished Kanteerava stadium ahead of the two prestigious FIBA events to be hosted by the city later this year.

 

FIBA had allotted these events to India with utmost confidence and support, based on the steady increase in on-court quality of the Indian National Teams over the past two years since the new leadership of the BFI, led by President K. Govindaraj and Secretary General Chander Mukhi Sharma, took over.

Over these last two years, the Men’s National Teams have been breaking historic ceilings by making the quarterfinals and eventually placing 8th in the 28th FIBA Asia Championship in 2015 and again making the quarterfinals and placing an all time best 7th Place in the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016.  With these two events being hosted in India, the BFI looks to promote and develop the Women’s National Teams to reach the same success as the Men’s sides.

In 2009, the BFI was allotted the same two Championships – the 1st FIBA Asia U-16 Championship for Girls in Pune, Maharashtra and the 23rd FIBA Asia Championship for Women in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.  The opportunity to host both events again will prepare the BFI to begin hosting home and away FIBA Asia Qualifiers, which are scheduled to begin in November 2017.

There will be 16 teams participating in both the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup and the U16 Women’s Asian Championship, with 8 teams in Division A (which include new Oceania teams Australia and New Zealand) and 6 in lower Division B.

India is in Division B in both the Senior and U16 events.

About the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup

The FIBA Women’s Asia Cup was previously referred to as the FIBA Asia Championship for Women and has been conducted regularly since 1965.  The competition is held every other year on odd years (2011, 2013, 2015, etc.).  The last edition of the event was held in Wuhan, China where the hosts China lost in the Championship Game to Japan.  The overall medal leaders are the South Korean National Team who have 12 Gold medals.   In the 2015 edition, India was relegated to Level 2 for the upcoming Championship.

About the FIBA U-16 Women’s Asian Championship

The FIBA U-16 Women’s Asian Championship was previously referred to as the FIBA Asia U-16 Championship for Girls.  This will be the 6th competition for the U-16 Girls category hosted under the aegis of FIBA / FIBA Asia.  The competition is every other year on odd years (2009, 2011, 2013, etc.).  The last iteration was held in Medan, Indonesia where China won the Gold and Japan the Silver.  The Indian team was relegated to Level 2 for the upcoming Championship.

About Basketball Federation of India

The Basketball Federation of India or BFI is the governing and controlling body of basketball in India, and is responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. BFI has been involved in conducting camps, clinics, events, and training sessions at its academies for the development of basketball. BFI came into being in 1935 and took complete control over Indian basketball in 1950. Prior to that time, the Indian Olympic Association handled the conduct of Indian basketball championships. Since 1950, the BFI has been conducting various such championships, from the grassroots to senior team participation in international tournaments. In addition, the BFI has been responsible for the establishment of strong sub-junior and junior level programs. The BFI has to its credit produced several international players of repute, among them 17 have been bestowed with the honour of Arjuna Awards. Earlier in June 2015, 19-year-old Satnam Singh Bhamara made history by becoming the first Indian national to be drafted by an NBA team, when he was selected by the Dallas Mavericks. More information at www.basketballfederationindia.org