45th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship tips off in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh

For the next week, the centre of Indian basketball will be facing north. The top "mini" basketball teams in the country (under-14s) are in Kangra in Himachal Pradesh for the 45th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls. The tournament, organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and the Himachal Pradesh Basketball Association (HPBA) will be held at the Municipal Ground in Kangra from November 12-18, 2018.

Last year's champs in Didwana (Rajasthan)- Rajasthan Boys and Tamil Nadu Girls - are sure to be favourites again for this year's event. Other teams to keep an eye on include Chhattisgarh's contingent, Madhya Pradesh boys, and Maharashtra girls.

HP's Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur was the chief guest at the tournament's opening ceremony and inaugurated the event. Also present were Vipin Singh Parmar (Health Minister, Himachal Pradesh) and K. Govindraj (President, BFI).