Fate of women's basketball team for Asiad hangs in balance

The recent stand-off between two factions in the Basketball Federation of India may have ended but its after-effects have left the women’s basketball team worn out before even heading to the Asian Games. 

Injuries to a number of their players have played a part, but the fact this squad was signed off on appears to be a tussle between factions. 

Because of the squabble, the court-appointed Justice P Krishna Bhat took assistance from the Sports Authority of India and named a squad. As it stands, the 16-member senior squad has a number of players who are still recovering from injuries, and one player is also reportedly on pregnancy leave. 

Of these players, Stephy Nixon, Nishathi Masilamani and Dharshini Thirunavakkarasu are injured, while Sathiya Senthikumar ruled herself out from selection due to personal reasons. Meanwhile, Shireen Vijay Limaye is still recovering from an injury, and reportedly looked heavy on her feet at the camp.

The notable absentees from the list are New Delhi’s Raspreet Singh, Karnataka’s Lopamudra Thimmaiah, Kerala’s Aneecha Cleetus and Railways’ Nima Soma Bhutia. The quartet was in prime touch during the recent Senior Nationals held in Udaipur between November 27 and December 5. 

These four players in particular were called up for the camp of 30 probables, but were sent back home after training for over a month. Soon after, the old, new entrants came on board. 

Still, the BFI has announced that they will send an updated roster for 5x5 and 3x3 teams for the marquee event in the days to come. It’s unlikely that there will be a change to the squad but BFI are trying to undo the damage. 

The only failure on BFI’s part is that they, despite being recognised by the Indian Olympic Association in the first week of July, didn’t send in the squad by IOA’s deadline of July 15. 

The new administration, however, sent in the names only mid-way through August. Their logic that they were waiting for recognition from the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) doesn’t add up since they were in any case approved as the ruling faction by the IOA.

To much bemusement, six new players were invited to the camp, after 13 ‘unselected’ players were sent back. It is normal practice for the replacements to be picked from the pool of the 30 original probables.  

Arjuna, who was not available for comment, is supposedly unhappy with the team and has gone so far as to put them on a drastic weight-loss programme given how unfit they are at the moment.

It seems like Indian basketball, the women in particular, can’t catch a break.  

Provisional squads: 5x5 format: Manmeet Kaur, Stephy Nixon, Poonam Chaturvedi, Madhu Kumari, Shireen Vijay Limaye, Nishanthi Masilamani, Sanjana Ramesh, Sreekala Rani, Sruthy Rathinavel, Pushpa Senthil Kumar, Sathiya Senthikumar, Dharshini Thirunavakkarasu. 

3x3 format: Anumaria Chenganamattathil Shaju, Siya Deodhar, Kavya Singla, Vaishnavi Yadav.