#FIBAAsiaChallenge: Mix of youth and experience in India's preliminary roster

Amjyot Singh (IND)
*This first appeared on FIBA.com.

A 20-man preliminary squad that has both experience and youth has been named by India for the FIBA Asia Challenge.

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Amjyot Singh, Amritpal Singh, Yadwinder Singh, Akilan Pari and Arvind Arumugam are among the established players in the squad.

They're joined on the list by Satnam Singh Bhamara, the first Indian national to be drafted by an NBA team. The The mountainous 7-foot-2, 290-pound centre, currently playing for Texas Legends in the D-League, last wore the national teams colours at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship in Manila, Philippines.


The 20-man list also includes youngsters Baladhaneshwar Poiyamozhi, Sahil, Vishal Gupta and Hariram Ragupathy.


India preliminary squad for FIBA Asia Challenge
Akilan Pari
Amritpal Singh
Amjyot Singh
Vishesh Bhriguvanshi
Prasanna Venkatesh Sivakumar
Yadwinder Singh
Arvind Arumugam
Basil Philip
Arjun Singh
Anil Kumar Bukankere Krishna Gowda
Aravind Annadurai
Talwinderjit Singh
Rikin Shantilal Pethani
Ravi Bhardwaj
Arshpreet Singh
Baladhaneshwar Poiyamozhi
Sahil
Vishal Kumar Gupta
Hariram Ragupathy
Satnam Singh Bhamara
   
All four represented India at the FIBA Asia U18 Championship in Tehran, Iran last month and guided the South Asians to the Quarter-Finals for the first times since 2004.

“We are calling up the top four U18 players to the camp site. This will help them get some exposure, develop confidence and see the next level they have to work towards,” explained assistant coach CV Sunny.

As part of their preparations for the FIBA Asia Challenge, the team travelled to Chinese Taipei to participate in the 38th Annual William Jones Cup. 

India recorded only a single victory in that tournament (their first ever) and lost seven, but Sunny believes that the tournament was exactly the kind of exposure the team needed ahead of the FIBA Asia Challenge.




“We as a team got some great exposure and gained a lot of experience there. This will definitely help us to improve our performance in the upcoming FIBA Asia Challenge.  The confidence level of the team has gone up after playing against some tough teams.”

India made history in the  2014 FIBA Asia Cup by beating host nation China for the first time ever. They went on to finish 7th.



The top five teams in the FIBA Asia Challenge will earn for their respective sub-zones an extra berth in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship). 


FOR MORE ON THE 2016 FIBA ASIA CHALLENGE, CHECK THIS OUT!

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