17th Asian Games 2014: The Indian Basketball Contingent heads out tonight

Here are the official team rosters as provided to us by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) for the senior national basketball squads that will be participating at the 17th Asian Games 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. Centre Amritpal Singh from ONGC and forward Smruthi Radhakrishnan, from Indian Railways will be captaining the men’s and women’s teams respectively. International FIBA referees Sharad Bansode and Peter Divaker have been nominated by BFI to represent India at the officiating table. The entire Indian contingent will be flying out of Delhi tonight.

About the Men’s Line Up

Sr Men 2014 File Photo

The men’s line up looks unchanged from their memorable run at the FIBA Asia Cup a few months ago. Forward Amjyot Singh will be looking to build on his sensational scoring performances from Wuhan. Veterans Prakash Mishra (point guard), Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (combo guard) and Yadwinder Singh (small forward) will be eager to guide the others on the team. Hot shooters Pratham Singh, Joginder Singh and Narender Grewal have the ability to spread the opposition defense and create more space for 7ft centre Amrit Pal Singh to work his magic in the post. Tamil Nadu players Rikin Pethani, Prasanna Venkatesh, Akilan Pari and Punjab power forward Palpreet Singh will be expected to come off the bench to relieve the other starters. Under Head Coach Scott Flemming, Assistant Coach GRL Prasad and physio Naved Hameed, there is continuity in the coaching staff too.

About the Women’s Line Up

Sr Women 2014 File Photo

The women’s line up has a few surprises in store. A player from Karnataka has made it to the senior national team after quite a while, in the form of Mysore forward Kruthika Lakshman. Also making an entry into the senior Indian squad is the promising point guard  Kavita Akula. The Chhattisgarh teenager has just returned from a four year training stint from the IMG Academy in Florida and will be raring to showcase the gains from her international exposure. Kavita is joined by her namesake and statemate Kavita Kumari who was a deserved choice in the Indian line up after her Most Valuable Player (MVP) performance at the Senior Nationals earlier this year, that helped Chhattisgarh topple the Railways for the first time in over a decade. Among the veterans, Delhi players Raspreet Sidhu, Prashanti Singh and Akanksha Singh will lend experience to the side. Coach Garcia has reiterated his emphasis on a younger line up. Apart from Kavita, fellow teenager Poojamol from Kerala is also part of the squad.  Maharashtra’s versatile forward Shireen Limaye and Kerala’s Jeena Scaria and centre Stephy Nixon will also be carrying huge expectations on their shoulders, especially in the absence of superstar Geethu Anna Jose, who was recently conferred the prestigious Arjuna Award.

For both teams, the problem remains lack of exposure games in the run up to these Asian Games. The sides were originally supposed to leave India at least 10 days ago, but due to totally avoidable last minute confusion created by Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Ministry of Sports, there was a cloud hanging over many of the Asian Games contingents on whether they would even be allowed to travel to Incheon, South Korea.

Final 12 – Senior Men

(C) – Captain

Final 12 – Senior Women