India lose Classification Game to Taipei; face Philippines next
New Delhi/Bengaluru, 30th July 2016: After its historic run to the quarterfinals of the 24th FIBA Asia U18 Men’s Championship came to an end yesterday, India faced off against Chinese Taipei in the first of its two classification games for 5 to 8 positions. Chinese Taipei is a familiar foe, having beaten India earlier in the league stages of Group A. This classification game was no different. The fatigue of playing 7 matches in 9 days finally got to India’s starters, especially captain P Baladhaneshwar, who was unable to muster up the all-round impact that we are used to seeing from this playmaking guard.
Wing player Rachit in action against Chinese Taipei. Image credit- FIBA Asia. In his absence, shooting guard Hariram Ragupathy and power forward Muhammad Noushad scored in double digits. India plays its final 7th-8thclassification position game tomorrow, against another Group A side, Philippines. The match tips off at 1pm IST.
Power forward Gineeb Benny uses his length against Chinese Taipei. Image credits-FIBA Asia You can watch the game here: [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4m8j9ttvvU[/youtube] Chinese Taipei (Ting-Jhao Jian 16 pts, Chia-Kang Li 13 pts) bt India (Hariram Ragupathy 13 pts, Muhammad Noushad 12 pts) 97-66 [27-12, 27-17, 24-16, 19-21]
Indian Squad for the 24th FIBA Asia U18 Men’s Championship 2016
Jersey No
Family Name(s)
/Last Name
First Name(s)
/Given Name
Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy)
Place of Birth
Height (cm)
(ft and inches)
Weight (Kg)
Position
5
Hansraj
04/03/1999
New Delhi
178
(5’ 10”)
64
PG
9
Sayyed
Saqlain Jamir
15/02/1998
Kada, Maharashtra
190
(6’ 2”)
78
SG
11
Rachit
16/09/1998
Delhi
186
(6’ 1”)
75
SG
13
Gupta
Vishal Kumar
04/01/1998
Village Chapar, Uttar Pradesh
199
(6’ 6”)
78
C
14
Mohammed Ali
06/04/1998
Samo Ki Dhani, Rajasthan
194
(6’ 4”)
70
PF
15
Deepak
13/04/1998
Israna, Haryana
185
(6’ 1”)
78
F
24
Poiyamozhi
Baladhaneshwar
07/12/1999
Ullikkottai Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu
180
(5’ 10.8”)
71
SG
25
Ragupathy
Hariram
24/04/1998
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
184
(6’)
72
SG
30
Arthur Wilson
Daniel Richards
25/10/1998
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
180
(5’ 10.8”)
74
SG
32
Benny
Gineeb
09/03/1998
Potta, Kerala
194
(6’ 4”)
78
C
52
Noushad
Muhammed Shiras
04/07/1999
Alappuzha, Kerala
190
(6’ 3”)
83
PF
55
Sahil
02/02/1999
Kalkha, Haryana
184
(6’)
69
SG
*PG - Point Guard / Feeder, G - Guard, F - Forward, G/F - Wing, PF - Power Forward, C - Centre, PF/C - Pivot
13) Team Manager: Mr. Ashok Sahu
14) Physio: Dr. Kannan Ratinasamy Bose
15) Head Coach: Mr. Dilip Gurumurthy
16) Assistant Coach: Mr. Paramdeep Singh
17) Referee: Mr. Imran Ali Baig
18) Referee: Mr. Ramesh Koppanathi
About the 24th FIBA Asia U18 Men’s Championship 2016
Venue: Azadi Sports Complex, Tehran, Iran
There are 12 participating teams that have been divided into two preliminary groups:Group A – China (WR-12), Chinese Taipei (WR-27), India (WR-52), Iraq (WR-62), Philippines (WR-28) and Thailand (WR-67). Group B – Indonesia (WR-70), Iran (WR-24), Japan (WR-26), Kazakhstan (WR-37), Korea (WR-18) and Lebanon (WR-54). Each team shall play all the other teams within its own group and the top 4 teams from each group qualify for the quarter-final round, followed by the semi-finals and finals. Additionally, placement matches will also be held for positions 3-8. The significance of this Championship is that the top three teams progress to the FIBA Under-19 World Championship that will be held in Cairo, Egypt from 1 to 9 July 2017.
India’s Upcoming Schedule [Timings in IST] Classification match for 7th-8th positions: vs Philippines on 31st July 2016 from 1:00 pm onwardsFor more details see: www.fiba.com/asia/u18/2016/fullschedule
Championship History
The Asia U-18 Men’s Championship was first held in 1970 in Seoul and has since been held every 2 years (or 3 years in certain cases). China is the most storied team at the Asian level, having won gold 11 times, followed by Philippines (6) and South Korea (3). Coming into this edition, China is the defending champion, followed by Iran (silver) and South Korea (bronze). For info on all time medallists, see: www.fiba.com/asia/u18/2016/all-time-medalists
India’s Record
Prior to the upcoming edition, India has participated in the Asian Championship 18 times, with its best finish coming at the 1972 Championship held in Manila, Philippines, where the side finished 4th. As hosts, India had conducted the 1998 and 2004 iterations in Kolkata and Bengaluru respectively. From 2006-2010 and in the last 2014 edition, India finished in 13th place, while in 2012, India managed a higher 10th place finish.