Lt. Col. Makkolath Rajan, legendary former Indian basketball coach, passes away at 83

One of the most successful and distinguished basketball coaches in India, Lt. Col. Makkolath Rajan passed away at age 83 in Kozhikode (Kerala) on Sunday, October 9. Rajan, who made his mark for India on both the national and international stage and coached India's only Olympic basketball team, had been hospitalised with pneumonia symptoms in Kozhikode a few weeks ago.

Rajan was the head coach of Team India's men's national team for the country's most famous international basketball outing: the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. The team lost all seven games they played in Russia but their place in Indian hoops history was secured with this historic accomplishment. Rajan also coached India at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, plus the FIBA Asia Basketball Championships in 1973 (Manila), 1985 (Kuala Lumpur) and 1989 (Beijing).

Rajan is the winningest coach in India's national basketball championships, with many gold medals collected in the 70s and 80s with Services. He coached Madhya Pradesh and served as Associate Secretary of the Kerala Basketball Association (KBA) from 1976-85. He held several posts with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) over the years.

Rajan was a distinguished medal winner for his role in Indo-Chinese war.

Rajan's wife passed on a message via Rajan's former player in the 1980 Olympics team, Amarnath N Nagarajan. "He was someone we all looked up to and will continue to do so. He is an inspiration to all of us. He always wanted us to be healthy and fit. Let's all remember and follow that in our busy lives. Sports was a way of life for him. He was a celebrated sportsman and brought laurels to the country. His discipline and dedication towards sports and the Army will always be remembered."

2014 Junior Nationals: Chhattisgarh (Girls) and Punjab (Boys) take home the title in Kochi

It was a day of Finals rematches, and a chance at repeat or redemption. The 64th Junior National Basketball Championship for Under-18 Boys and Girls - held at Kochi (Kerala) from May 26th to June 2nd - came down to a double rematch in both the divisions from last year's Finals. In front of loud fans showing their support for the game on Monday evening at Kochi's Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Chhattisgarh defended the girls' title with a second consecutive Final victory over hosts Kerala. Punjab's Boys redeemed themselves after last year's loss in Cuttack to snatch the title over Delhi with a win in the Boys' finale.

The 'Junior Nationals' were organized by the Kerala Basketball Association (KBA) under the auspices of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). The week-long tournament entertained 24 boys' and 23 girls' teams from across India competing for the title.

But, as the dust settled, the finalists were once again familiar faces from a year ago. After losing two league games earlier in the tournament, Punjab Boys gained momentum to storm in their into the final for a rematch against last year's champs, Delhi. Playing with flair and athleticism, Punjab took a double-digit lead in the first half and never looked back, holding on to their advantage en route to a 83-71 win. Arshpreet Singh (21) and Anmol Singh (16) carried the scoring load for the winners, while Delhi's guard Sunil scored 25 points in a losing effort.

The girls' final was also a repeat from 2013, featuring the host team Kerala and reigning champions Chhattisgarh. Despite facing a hostile crowd egging up the host side and trailing in the first quarter, Chhattisgarh stayed composed to craft a comeback with a dominant performance the rest of the way. Led by MVP Sharanjeet Kaur (28 points in the Final) and Riya Verma (24) Chhattisgarh took the lead and stretched it to double digits by the end of the game for a 79-66 victory. Kerala's missed the services of prodigious young star Poojamol KS in the final, who suffered a leg injury earlier in the league rounds. Arathi Vimal led the way with 17 points for the hosts.

Punjab's Arshpreet Singh (Boys) and Chhattisgarh's Sharanjeet Kaur (Girls) were handed the Harish Sharma Most Valuable Player Awards at the end of the tournament.

The bronze-medal games were also held earlier in Monday. In the Boys' game, Harish (31) and Muin Bek (22) helped Tamil Nadu defeat Maharashtra 83-80 in a thrilling encounter. Sandhu Sanson scored 21 while Harshal Parab added 18 for the losing side. Uttar Pradesh's girls continued their fairytale run in the tournament behind 20 points by Barkha Sonkar to defeat Punjab 73-39 in their bronze medal encounter. Sakshi Sharma added 17 for UP while Samriti with 20 was the leading scorer for the losing side.

The two winning teams received a cash prize of Rs 1,000,000 each while the runners-up were each handed Rs. 75,000.

In the Semi-Final stage a day earlier, Delhi outlasted Maharashtra in a high-scoring encounter in the boys' division with a 91-79 win. Hemant Hooda (24) and Sunil (20) were the high scorers for Delhi, while Maharashtra featured top performances by Ashraf Siddique (18) and Parab Harshal (17). In the second boys's semi-final, Punjab blew out Tamil Nadu early behind a captivating 31-point night by Gurvinder Singh Gill. Arshpreet Singh added 18 for Punjab in the win.

Eventual girls' champs Chhattisgarh ended Uttar Pradesh's hopes for a miracle upset with a 105-53 thumping. Behind the unstoppable duo of Sangeeta Kaur (32) and Sharanjeet Kaur (29), Chhattisgarh led the whole way for the easy victory. Barkha Sonkar finished with 27 points for UP in the loss. In the second semi-final between Kerala and Punjab, Elizabeth Hilarious (23) and Arathi Vimal (16) were too much to handle in 64-53 win for Kerala. Punjab's top scorer was Gagandeep Kaur, who had 28 points in a valiant losing effort.

Final Results

Boys: Punjab (Arshpreet Singh 21, Anmol Singh 16) bt Delhi (Sunil 25, Narender 15) 83-71 (19-15, 21-14, 19-20, 24-22). 

Girls: Chhattisgarh (Saranjeet Kaur 28, Riya Verma 24) bt Kerala (Arathi Vimal 17, Elizabeth Hilarious 14) 79-66 (17-22, 19-13, 20-10, 23-21).

Third/Fourth Place Matchups

Boys: Tamil Nadu (Harish 31, Muin Bek 22) bt Maharashtra (Sandhu Sanson 21, Harshal Parab 18) 83-80 (17-23, 24-23, 19-17, 23-17). 

Girls: Uttar Pradesh (Barkha Sonkar 20, Sakshi Sharma 17) bt Punjab (Samriti 20, Gagandeep 15) 73-59 (21-20, 19-16, 21-11, 22-12).

Final Standings

Boys

• Punjab
  
• Delhi
  
• Tamil Nadu
  
• Maharashtra
  
• Madhya Pradesh
  

Girls

• Chhattisgarh
  
• Kerala
  
• Uttar Pradesh
  
• Punjab
  
• Karnataka
  

2014 Junior National Basketball Championship tips off in Kochi with big win for Chhattisgarh Girls

With a total of 47 boys' and girls' under-18 teams attending and ready to contend for the title, India's 2014 Junior National Basketball Championship tipped off in Kochi (Kerala) on Monday. From their very first game, Girls' reigning champs Chhattisgarh made their intent clear to once again be considered as one of the title favourites with a big win over Tamil Nadu. In the boys' division, top contenders Tamil Nadu and Punjab both got their campaigns off with convincing victories as well.

The championship was declared open at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the city by Hibi Eden (MLA) and presided by the K Manohar Kumar, the president of the Kerala Basketball Association (KBA). The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is organizing the tournament in auspices with the KBA. The finale of the tournament is set to be held on June 2.

The participating teams are:

Boys

• Group A: Delhi, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana.
  
• Group B: Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odhisa, Maharashtra.
  
• Group C: Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir.
  
• Group D: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Puducherry.
  
• Group E: Bihar, Goa, Uttarakhand.
  
• Group F: Assam, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.
  

Girls

• Group A: Chhattissgarh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab.
  
• Group B: Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana.
  
• Group C: Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir.
  
• Group D: Delhi, Gujarat, Puducherry.
  
• Group E: Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand.
  
• Group F: Bihar, Chandigarh, West Bengal.
  

Girls' reigning champs Chhattisgarh got their campaign off with a win, despite a slow start against Tamil Nadu. TN took a six point lead in the first quarter, but Chhattisgarh came storming back to take a lead at halftime, and blazed past to finish the game with a 83-64 victory. Chhattisgarh's duo of Sharanjeet Kaur (29 points) and Sangeeta Kaur (23) were unstoppable throughout. Shrividhya led with 24 points for the losing side.

In a high-scoring contest, Preeti Kumari exploded for 40 points to help lead Uttar Pradesh to a 85-79 win over Karnataka. The victory included UP bouncing back from a nine point deficit at the end of the third quarter to outscore their opponents 32-17 in the final period. Barkha Sonkar added 20 for UP. Bhandavya and Lopamurda - two of the top young Karnataka players - led their team with 26 and 23 points each.

Boys' finalists Punjab got off to a good start, as Jaipal Singh (23) and Arshpreet Singh (17) helped their side to a 75-52 blowout win over Karnataka.

In another Boys' game, Tamil Nadu dominated Maharashtra from start to finish en route to an easy 90-49 win. Jedidah of TN had 24 points for the winning team.

 Selected Scores Boys

• Tamil Nadu (Jedidah 24, Muin 15) bt. Maharashtra (Qureshi 15) 90-49(17-6, 34-15, 23-13, 16-15).
  
• Punjab (Jaipal Singh 23, Arshpreet Singh 17) bt Karnataka 75-52 (12-11, 14-6, 18-16, 31-19).
  
• Madhya Pradesh (Shubham Mishra 26, BP Singh 16, H Singh 16) bt Kerala (Akhil AR 18) 75-64 (9-23, 13-16, 28-6, 25-19).
  

Girls

• Chhattisgarh (Sharanjeet Kaur 29, Sangeeta Kaur 23) bt. Tamil Nadu (Shrividhya 24) 83-64 (15-21, 25-10, 16-15, 27-18).
  
• Uttar Pradesh (Preeti Kumari 40, Barkha Sonkar 20) bt. Karnataka (Bhandavya 26, Lopamudra 23) 85-79 (21-26, 16-13, 16-23, 32-17).
  
• Delhi (Nishita 20, Soumya Babbar 16, Jyoti Rai 15) bt. Puducherry 73-29 (20-7, 21-11, 15-4, 17-7).
  

NBA-India’s Troy Justice holds camp for coaches and players in Kerala

Troy Justice, the Director of Basketball Operations of NBA-India, held a three-day basket ball clinic concluded at the Central Stadium at Thiruvanathpuram which concluded on Wednesday, June 8th. The clinic brought together 100 coaches and 40 players from around Kerala.

“The clinic was organised by Kerala Basketball Association (KBA) with the help of Kerala State Sports Council (KSSC). Troy came to Thiruvanathpuram with his aim or the aim of NBA in India which is to spread basketball at the grassroots level which would encourage more kids to play the game,” said P J Sunny, chairman of the selection committee.

The camp was held from June 6th - June 8th. Justice has indicated three priorities for the growth of Indian basketball: To ensure the growth of the game throughout the country, to provide a focus on the grassroots programme to encourage more kids to play the game, and then to train and develop quality coaches and players.

"The coaches were very engaged and had a strong desire to learn the technical aspects of the game," said Justice, "We covered a lot of advanced training with them in just a 3-day period. It was a very effective clinic and I felt very good about it."

He added: "We had high level players that were going through the drills and practices with us - So the clinic was very practical and hands/on, and involved some of the top players in the state."

Justice was assisted by Eban Hyams, a professional player playing in the Australian Basketball league. Hyams has represented Coastal Georgia Club, Sydney Kings, Singapore Slingers and also played for Galil Elyon Club in the ULEB Cup in the European circuit. He had his basketball schooling in America as well as Australia.

The three-day camp was also attended by few coaches from outside Kerala, including two international referees. One of these referees was Ramesh Kumar from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, who runs a Rural Basketball Trust. The camp also got the support from the players of KSEB, Kerala Police and the U-18 Girl’s team.

The last day went off with continuity offence, out of bounce moves, zone defense and offences. Players and Coaches had the chance to share their views and suggestions with Troy during the concluding session. Participants were given away certificates by Justice

Basketball Coaches clinic to be held in Thiruvanathpuram

A special three-day basketball clinic for basketball coaches in the state of Kerala will be held at the Central Stadium in the state's capital of Thiruvanathpuram from June 6-8th. The clinic will be headed by Troy Justice, the Director of Basketball Operations, NBA-India.

Coaches working with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) as well as the Kerala State Sports Council (KSSC) will be able to participate in this clinic. The clinic is also open for interested amateur coaches.

According to the Kerala Basketball Association (KBA) (source: The Hindu):

The release said that Troy has indicated three priorities for the growth of Indian basketball. To ensure the growth of the game throughout the country, provide a focus on the grassroots programme to encourage more kids to play the game and then to train and develop quality coaches and players. The idea, the release further stated, was to hear basketballs bouncing all over the country. Thirty-two boys and girls of the Kerala junior teams will also get the chance to work out with Troy during the three-day clinic.

Troy Justice, who assisted India's Kerala-born superstar Geethu Anna Jose to seal tryouts with three-WNBA squads last month, will be returning to Geethu's state to help the growth of the game.

In an interview with the Deccan Chronicle, Justice added: "NBA has set itself some goals in India. Firstly, we want to build and develop the game of basketball throughout the county. Secondly, we want to do that by focusing on programme at the grassroot level and finally to train and develop coaches and players. I am eager to lend my international experience to this workshop."

Coaches interested in attending the clinic should contact Dr. M.M. Chacko, clinic coordinator, ph: 9446030638 or 0471-2530638.