Young basketball stars head to IMG Academies on scholarship programme

Eight young Indian basketball players, all between the ages of 14-15, have been chosen by IMG-Reliance and Basketball Federation of India (BFI) to go to the esteemed IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida (USA) to continue their education on full scholarship as student-athletes. The youngsters will board their flight to USA at midnight on September 17th along with other Indian youngsters chosen for a scholarship by IMG-Reliance in sports such as football and tennis.

The youngsters will be accompanied to the USA by experienced football coach Bipan Singh

After 50 of the most talented sub-junior basketball players took part in a try-out programme organised by the IMG coaches, four boys and four girls were chosen based on their potential to head to the IMG Academies this year. The eight youngsters will study at the Templeton School in Bradenton and train at the IMG Basketball Academy. They have been accepted to complete their education until Grade 12 from the school and will be re-evaluated in their academic and athletic progress at the end of each year.

The eight youngsters are:

Ashiv Jain (Madhya Pradesh)
Barkha Sonkar (Uttar Pradesh)
Dinesh Kumar Mishra (Chhatisgarh)
Kavita Akula (Chhatisgarh)
Pooja Ambastha Chhatisgarh)
Sanjeev Kumar (Chhatisgarh)
Satnam Singh Bhamara (Punjab)
Soumya Babbar (Delhi)

Harish Sharma, the secretary-general of the BFI, congratulated the players before they left for Florida, and added, "Thanks to IMG and Reliance, these children are going to be presented with an incredible opportunity with a scholarship at the IMG Academy in Florida. This programme will open a new world of experiences for them in America as they study and train at the best multisport academy in the world."

"We are looking forward to them to return to India as basketball stars and influence the level of our game here," said Sharma.