NBA-India 31

By tradition, India’s senior national basketball championship – or the ‘Senior Nationals’ – are held in the transition period between one calendar year and another. Although there have been exceptions on the schedule every now and then, for most of India’s finest hoop players, the New Year’s celebrations have been held in preparation or during […]

A tall bald foreign male can be seen at almost every major basketball related event in India— intently watching proceedings, conducting training sessions or else signing autographs. He is ubiquitous— a messiah of the hardwood— considered by many Indians as the real face of the NBA— not Kobe, Lebron or Dwight. Who is this man you ask? […]

I remember the first time I watched the NBA on TV. It was the mid-90s and I was more interested in watching Duck Tales on Doordarshan than ‘alternative’ games like basketball on Star Sports. The definition of sport used to begin and end with cricket. Although I’d heard of names such as Michael Jordan or […]

14-04-13: It has begun! The first match of the 28th Ramu Memorial Tournament 2013 tipped-off between Chattisgarh and Maharashtra women at 5 pm. The opening minutes saw both teams trading baskets at a near 100% field goal percentage. It was only a matter of time though, before Chattisgarh’s superior fitness and defensive pressing turned the game in […]

I watched Bollywood hit ‘Half Girlfriend’ so you won’t have to Warning: Spoilers ahead. Less than half an hour into the Mohit Suri directed film Half Girlfriend – based on popular novel by Chetan Bhagat – the two lead characters Madhav Jha (Arjun Kapoor) and Riya Somani (Shraddha Kapoor) take on the court in a […]