Three Madhya Pradesh basketball officials booked by police for fraud

This is not the first time you're hearing news like this in Indian Basketball, and it certainly won't be the last.

If you are an astute follower of this blog and Indian basketball, you will recall that, in August 2014, the Madhya Pradesh Basketball Association (MSBA) began dealing with an internal power struggle, as two separate groups of the association elected two different presidents, one group led by Kailash Vijayvargiya and the other by Avinash Anand. One group refused to recognise the other, the second group accused the first of misuse of funds.

(This break-up will sound familiar, of course, because a similar division of associations happened at the national level with the Basketball Federation of India less than six months later.)

Now, a little more than two years later, Madhya Pradesh basketball is back in the news for the wrong reasons. Various sources reported that three members of the Vijayvargiya group - Secretary Kulwinder Singh Gill, president BJM Sharma and treasurer Ritu Sharma - have been booked by the police in Indore on Monday, December 5, for criminal breach of trust, fraud and forgery embezzlement in allegedly diverting association funds into private bank accounts. Police said cases have been registered under Sections 406, 417, 420, 467,468, 471 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code. The complaint of fraud was filed by the MPBA's other group - who go by the Corporation Basketball Trust - secretary Avinash Anand, and office-bearers Laxmikant Patel and Bhupendra Bandi late on Sunday night. According to Indore's Tukoganj police station in-charge Dilip Singh Choudhari (via The Times of India), the group accused the trio of diverting funds received by the association for personal use. Choudhari said the complainants had approached the crime branch twice before: once in 2012 and then again a couple of months ago, before the case was shifted to Tukoganj.

According to Anand, the trio - led by Gill - has been accused of siphoning off more than Rupees 40 lakh received as government grant to the association in 2010 towards hosting a national championship in the state.

Anand is quoted further by The Hindustan Times:

"Gill first illegally closed the association’s bank account with State Bank of India and opened a new account with Arihant Cooperative Bank. He then issued two cheques in favour of his mother, one for 5 lakh and the other for 3 lakh. A car insurance and LIC premium was also paid from this account, among other things. Later, this bank account was closed and a fresh account was opened with Bank of Baroda, again without due permission from the association."

A couple of months ago, Madhya Pradesh boys' team retained the Sub-Junior National Championship trophy in Hyderabad. But as it is often with Indian basketball, a big shot is followed by a turnover. Hopefully, the new administration keeps the same U14 sub-junior players in mind over themselves - the future of the state and the country - before repeating the mistakes of the past.

Federation Games

The best way to solve Basketball Federation of India’s power struggle? A game of basketball, of course!

This article was first published in my column for Ekalavyas on April 9, 2015. Click here to read the original post.

Ms Poonam Mahajan (left) and Mr Govindraj are the two nominated Presidents
in each of the rival factions. Photo Courtesy: Ekalavyas

The stage was set for a showdown when two opposing factions of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) called two separate Annual General Meetings (AGM) in two different cities on two different days. The purpose of both these meetings was to select a new executive committee – including a new BFI president – for the federation that governs all things India Basketball. And that is exactly what happened. In Bangalore on March 27, in a meeting led by former president KS Gill, the Karnataka State Basketball Association’s secretary K Govindraj was elected president; in Pune on March 28, in a meeting organized by BFI CEO Roopam Sharma, the chosen president was Poonam Mahajan.

Two meetings. Two presidents. Two executive committees. One federation. With neither side willing to back down, it has become clear that the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will have to step in to resolve the issue. A legal battle in court might be the next chapter in this ugly drama.

But what if the problem was resolved on a different kind of court? After all, ‘Team Roopam’ and ‘Team Govindraj’ are each fighting for the throne to lead Indian basketball. Somewhere along this political fight, basketball itself seems to have been ignored. Maybe the best way to solve the Basketball Federation of India’s power struggle is just a game of basketball.

Introducing… The Basketball Game for Basketball, where the competing factions of the BFI play step out on the basketball court for one 40 minute contest to decide it all.

This is a (mostly) a work of fiction.

Setting

Three years ago, the BFI dedicated the Mastan YMCA basketball courts in Mumbai to the memory of former Secretary-General and CEO Harish Sharma. Sharma was the leader of the BFI and the CEO position had been created specifically to keep him in a position of power. Other positions like Secretary-General, President, Treasurer, and the rest of the Executive Committee have to be elected on the basis of a vote at the AGM. There is a time limit of how many years any one individual can keep hold of a senior committee position. After Sharma’s death in 2012, his wife Roopam Sharma was made CEO (instead of the position being abolished) and the divide within the BFI grew wider: some supported her, others didn’t. Of course, this means that he newly named Harish Sharma Basketball Courts in Mastan, Mumbai should play host to The Basketball Game for Basketball.

Team Govindraj

Starting 5: K Govindraj (President), Teja Singh Dhaliwal (Senior Vice-President), RS Gill (former President), Chander Mukhi Sharma (Secretary-General), V Raghothaman (Tresurer).

Bench: Ajay Sud, D.R. Saini, Shafiq Shaikh, Bhupendra Shahi, L. Suren (Vice-Presidents), Shakthi Singh Gohil (Associate Secretary), Norman Isaac (Executive Committee Member).

Team Roopam

Starting 5: Poonam Mahajan (President), Roopam Sharma (Secretary-General), Mukut Medhi (Treasurer), RS Chahal (Senior Vice President), Prempal Singh (Associate Secretary).

Bench: Nandini Bassapa, Ashok Kumar Sahu, Rajesh Patel, Ajeet Singh Rathore, Dalbir Singh Kharab, Vinod Vachani (Vice Presidents), Ashok Rangeen (Associate Secretary).

First off, Team Roopam must be praised for diversifying the gender field and featuring two women in the starting lineup (Mahajan and Sharma) and one off the bench (Bassapa). They also have youth on their side, kind of: 34-year-old Mahajan is the youngest president of any Indian sports federation. Both teams have some great Indian coaches and former players but Team Govindraj may be a little more athletic (I’m using the word ‘athletic’ in its broadest definition possible).

Team Roopam may have some home court advantage, specifically because of Mahajan’s Mumbai connection (she is the BJP national secretary and MP from the Mumbai North-Central Lok Sabha constituency) and because of the Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA) support that Mahajan brings as the first women president of the MSBA. Mahajan has a lot of political clout and had a powerful father Pramod Mahajan, whose one-time aide was none other than the late Harish Sharma, Roopam’s husband. By extension, the overall political advantage goes to the president-secretary general combination of Mahajan and Roopam Sharma.

Team Govindraj may have the legal advantage, however. As per BFI’s constitution and the India’s Ministry of Sports code, only the president of a federation can call an AGM, and thus, the meeting in Bengaluru – held under the guidance of departing president RS Gill – was technically the only ‘legal’ one. Team Govindraj also scored a major win when FIBA – the international body that runs basketball around the world – recognised them as the rightful office-bearers of the BFI.

Tip-off!

Usually, the illustrious names that have been mentioned above do their best at every major Indian sports event to find the most comfortable sofa seats courtside, sip in the finest local chai, and make sure that there is an extra timeout called in every top game so that they can be introduced midcourt to the diligently lined-up players. But this time, it will be the VIPs taking the court while our top players sit on the bleachers and watch. Unhappily.

With more aggressive intent to their side, Team Roopam try to control the pace of the game, running and gunning from the get go and trying to put as many points on the board early in the first quarter. There are a lot of turnovers, bad passes, and individuals attempting to play one-on-one hero-ball, but due to the sheer number of their attempts and their opposition’s slow start, Team Roopam are able to take a double digit early lead.

But as the game moves along, Team Govindraj grind the pace down to their comfort level and defend hard in the post. The game takes an even uglier twist as neither side is able to make their field goals anymore. There are a lot of stoppages, and with the help of the free-throw line, Team Govindraj crawl back to tie the game by halftime.

‘Fans’

The score-keepers seated on the side are representatives from the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) and judges from the Delhi High Court. Despite their best efforts, they have a difficult time keeping track of the awry field goal percentages from both sides.

Meanwhile, representatives from IMG Worldwide and Reliance Industries – the partnership of the two powerful companies that brought sponsorship rights to the BFI five years ago –watch and judge the game from the sidelines, scouting for the finest prospects to work with to help develop the game in India in the future. IMG-Reliance have been hoping to help the BFI launch India’s first professional basketball league, a process that seems to have been suspended consistently over the past few years. Other sponsors are present too, watching the tamasha, as are representatives from the NBA and NBA India, who have vested interest in the long-term development of the sport after these intriguing Federation Games.

The camera pans from the sponsors and CEOs to the other end, where India’s best players and coaches – the individuals who should actually be the stars of the Indian basketball story – are seated. About 10 months ago, Coach Scott Flemming and his team’s top players like Amrit Pal Singh, Amjyot Singh, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, and more helped India get a historic first win over China at the FIBA Asia Cup. Two years ago, India’s Women’s team – represented here by Coach Francisco Garcia, legendary player Geethu Anna Jose, Anitha Paul Durai, Jeena PS and others – helped India finish at their best-ever fifth place at the FIBA Asia Championship for Women. Jose was even conferred an Arjuna Award  this year.

(None of these accolades are mentioned of course because Indian basketball achievements weren’t the top priority at this basketball game).

Hundreds of more children, all of whom are basketball enthusiasts hoping to become stars for India and abroad, sit terror-stricken on bleachers around the stadium. Many concerned coaches reach over to them and cover their eyes to save them from the horrors ahead.

Second Half

Both teams start the second half with their more experienced players. For Team Roopam, coaches like Chhattisgarh’s Rajesh Patel, India’s junior coach Vinod Vachani, and Delhi’s Ashok Rangeen pit their collective strategies together to get some easy baskets for their team. For Team Govindraj, president Govindraj himself shows some moves from his playing days for Karnataka, while L. Suren rises off the bench to provide some defensive stops. Unfortunately, Team Roopam’s marquee player – president Poonam Mahajan – is confounded by the game that she is supposed to be presiding.

As the audience is subjected to a fourth quarter that no one wishes to watch, the game turns contentious, with the referees’ whistles threatening to steal the spotlight. An outlandish number of calls start going Team Roopam’s way, who opponents complain are winning the advantage due to political threats and blackmail. Team Roopam are unable to take advantage of the opportunity, however. The FIBA Commissioners presiding over this game – who have recently recognized Team Govindraj as the rightful office-bearers of the BFI – neutralize the refereeing scandal with imbalanced overseeing from their end.

By the final whistle, neither team has put up a particularly impressive score, all the players on court have picked up flagrant and technical fouls, and none of the fans are having a good time.

Final Whistle

Nobody is sure who won the game, but everyone knows that basketball lost.

2015 Federation Cup in Pune: ONGC make it a three-peat of titles, Southern Railway women win gold

ONGC's star-studded squad out of Uttarakhand made it three wins in the last three years as they defeated IOB (Chennai) in a finals rematch of the 29th Federation Cup Basketball Tournament for Men and Women at the Shiv Chhatrapati Krida Sankul in Mahalunge, Pune (Maharashtra), on Thursday, April 2. The Women's competition at the tournament was held in round-robin fashion and it was Southern Railway - who finished atop the group standings - and emerged as winners.

The Federation Cup pits India's most successful recent clubs or states against each other. In the Men's division, the participating teams were chosen from the eight best club sides from India's top ranking states in the previous National Basketball Championship, while the Women's teams were represented by the eight top rankings states or railway units themselves. The 29th Federation Cup, organized by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in association with Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA) and Pune District Basketball Association, tipped off on March 29.

In a rematch of last year's men's final, ONGC easily fought off their rivals IOB en route to a 71-50 win. India's national team big man Amrit Pal Singh came up huge for ONGC with 20 points. The Uttarakhand-based held a small 34-28 advantage at halftime, but turned up the gears after the break to outscore IOB by 15 in the final two quarters of the game.

The Third Place game for Men was won by Indian Army, who were led by the high-scoring duo of A Gopal (25) and Jai Ram Jat (22) in a 61-53 victory over Punjab Police.

The Women's division was held in a round-robin league fashion only. Southern Railway needed a victory on the final day to secure their lead and end the tournament as champions, and they delivered in style, thumping Chhattisgarh 87-56 in their last game. Kerala secured the Women's silver medal with a dominant 74-29 win over Delhi.

Scores

• Men's Final: ONGC (Amrit Pal Singh 20, Vishesh Briguvanshi 13) bt. IOB (Amjyot Singh 14) 71-50 (21-13, 13-15, 25-16, 12-6).
  
• Third Place: Indian Army (A Gopal 25, Jayram Jat 22) bt. Punjab Police 61-53 (7-19, 23-13, 12-6, 19-15).
  
• Women's Super League: Southern Railway (Alagutamil 15) bt. Chhattisgarh (Sharanjeet Kaur 17, L Deepa 13) 87-56 (18-15, 27-17, 15-16, 27-8).
  
• Women's Super League: Kerala bt. Delhi 74-29 (21-11, 18-10, 16-3, 19-5)
  

Final Standings Men

• 1. ONGC
  
• 2. IOB
  
• 3. Indian Army
  

Women

• 1. Southern Railway
  
• 2. Kerala
  
• 3. Chhattisgarh
  

ONGC's Amrit Pal Singh and Kerala's Jeena PS were named the tournament's Most Valuable Players in the Men's and Women's sections respectively.

The Federation Cup was held in the midst of back-office drama for the BFI, as two different factions called two separate meetings to elect two different executive committees to run the federation. Now, the BFI has two different presidents and the factions are headed for a court-case. At the tournament itself, an official sparked more conflict: Lalit Nahata - organizing secretary of the Federation Cup and joint secretary of the MSBA - insulted India's former captain Riyazuddin of ONGC by putting a dirty mop on his face/shoulders. Several of Riyaz's teammates and players from other teams came to the player's defense immediately. After a near altercation, Nahata first resigned into an office and later came out to apologize to Riyaz and the other players.

There is more than enough drama and excitement on the basketball court in India to keep us entertained, as the Federation Cup proved. In the future, we hope that the drama stays exactly where it belongs, and out of the hands of officials hindering the sport in India.

2015 Federation Cup tips off in Pune today amid BFI political drama

Usually, basketball news is what you receive when you search for news about basketball. Elementary, isn't it? Well, not in India. Embroiled with different factions fighting among each other to gain the control and power that comes with the leadership of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), Indian basketball has taken a backseat to Indian basketball politics. So much so that, the BFI itself seems to have been more interested in promoting their elections on their website rather than promoting the 29th Federation Cup All India Basketball Championship for Men and Women, one of the nation's top state/club level tournaments, which is tipping off in Pune (Maharashtra) today.

To briefly recap the off-the-court drama in recent days, two rebelling factions of the BFI selected two opposing executive committees to run the federation this week: one led by K. Govindraj and Teja Singh Dhaliwal in Bengaluru, the other by Poonam Mahajan and Roopam Sharma in Pune. But if you guys are done with your power-struggles, maybe its time to think about what you're actually fighting for: the basketball.

The Federation Cup pits India's most successful recent clubs or states against each other. Therefore, in the Men's division, the participating teams will be chosen from the eight best club sides from India's top ranking states in the previous National Basketball Championship, while the Women's teams will be represented by the eight top rankings states or railway units themselves. The 29th Federation Cup, organized by the BFI in association with Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA) and Pune District Basketball Association will be held at Shiv Chhatrapati Krida Sankul in Mahalunge, Pune from March 29 - April 2.

ONGC Men - representing Uttarakhand - who have won the last two Federation Cup trophies, will be looking forward to making it a three-peat in Pune this year. Last year's women's winner Chhattisgarh, who are also the two-time reigning national championship winners, will be hoping to retain their trophy, too.

According to an update on Ekalavyas.com yesterday, the tournament will be inaugurated on today by Girish Bapat, Cabinet Minister and BFI's first woman president (or so says one BFI faction) Poonam Mahajan.

BFI's political drama threatens to once again shift the focus and the privileges to the politicians sitting on the sofa rather than the players sweating it out on the court, itself. Hopefully, through the course of the Federation Cup, the country's most talented players are able to remind us why we love the game of basketball. For the actual basketball.

Ajay Sud resigns from post of Basketball Federation of India's Secretary-General while the BFI divides in disarray

After several years of holding court as the Basketball Federation of India's (BFI) Secretary-General, Ajay Sud surprisingly resigned from his position earlier this month. Sud's resignation has come around a time of disarray for the BFI: with their Annual General Meeting (AGM) about 10 days away, factions within the federation that governs basketball in India have been divided. It is a problem that roots within a power and leadership struggle at the helm of the BFI and showed its effect when two separate circulars were sent to state basketball secretaries about the date and location of the AGM this year.

Around four years after becoming the Secretary-General, Sud has resigned from his post, and there are suspicious that the conflict and pressure within the BFI - especially in regards to the AGM - may have led Sud to this decision. While there are some claims that it was originally planned for the AGM to be held in Bengaluru on March 27, the new circular on the BFI website claimed that the AGM instead will be held in Pune (during the Federation Cup) on March 28.

For sporting bodies in India, the Secretary-General is one of the senior-most positions of operation. Federations like the BFI are led by a triumvirate of the President, Secretary-General, and Treasurer. All three positions have a maximum-allowed time of service and the Secretary-General is chosen by a vote by the executive committee, made up of secretaries of the state federations around India. Up to around 2011, the federation's Secretary-General was Harish Sharma, but the BFI created a new position – CEO – for him, which could be exempt from the maximum eight-year term of service and is not answerable to the federation’s president (RS Gill). Sud then replaced Sharma as the Secretary-General. After Sharma's death in 2012, his wife Roopam Sharma took over as the BFI CEO and has since held the position that gives her the power without a government-mandated time limit.

Within the BFI, senior leaders had discussed to now end the CEO position and degrade Roopam Sharma to the (non-permanent) Secretary-General position at the AGM; this could be the reason why those in support of Sharma as the CEO would be willing to a different annual meeting than those who were against it.

Sports journalist Kamesh Srinivasan - who has long-covered basketball for The Hindu and Sportstar - exposed the news about Sud's resignation and the split within Indian basketball on his blog a few days ago:

... a communication to the members was sent on February 28 about the AGM, with a promise that the details would follow shortly, as advised by the BFI president. However, the secretary general of the BFI, Ajay Sud, sent a circular on March 2, stating that the AGM would be held in Pune on March 28. Perturbed at having to go against the original understanding and directive of the president, the secretary general tendered his resignation the same day, after sending the circular.
"On moral ground and taking responsibility for what has happened, I extend my resignation... ", wrote Ajay Sud, in his communication
to the president, with copies to all the members of the association.

"I was pressured by some people to change the venue of meetings to Pune for which I gave my consent without the approval of President under
my scanned signatures on 2nd March 2015. As this action of mine was not according to my conscience and moral values... I resigned from the post of Secretary General", clarified Ajay Sud on Thursday.

The president RS Gill, who has served three terms in office and will be stepping aside after the AGM, took charge of the situation by sending the circulars to the members and also appointing a Returning Officer for the election to be held in Bengaluru on March 27, as he derived the powers to do so in the absence of the secretary general, as per the Constitution of the BFI.
However, the BFI with its headquarters in Delhi, swung into action and called the actions of the president as ‘illegal’ and ‘unconstitutional’. It has also sought the intervention of the Union Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), stressing that the president had no authority to act the way he had done.
"Under the given circumstances, the President should have called for an emergency meeting of the Executive Board to discuss the status and
to take the consent of the General House", wrote CEO Roopam Sharma, emphasizing that she had the "sole legal authority to represent BFI including all correspondence as per the constitution of BFI".

I suggest that you read the full post by Srinivasan that had earlier brought this entire issue to light.

In India, the sports development code – formed by the Ministry of Sports – only allows a maximum of eight years for principal office bearers of a sports federation. During the past decade, Harish Sharma was the overruling ‘father’ of BFI, and thus, Indian Basketball as a whole. The BFI created the CEO position for Sharma, explaining that it was created specifically to keep him in a position of influential leadership. But in early 2012, at just the age of 53, Harish Sharma passed away, leaving the leadership of the BFI in temporary disarray. Instead of reverting to the old constitution (without a CEO), the BFI named Harish’s wife – Roopam Sharma – as the federation’s new CEO a few months later. Without a government-mandated time limitation for this position, Roopam – who is also a Deputy GM of Air India (Ground Relations) – is still the CEO, and may continue to remain so. She and her Deputy CEO Prem Pal Singh remain responsible for the majority of BFI’s decision-making, and thus, for the fortunes and future of basketball in India.

While the BFI has expanded its grassroots reach over the last few years with massive school and college leagues across dozens of Indian cities, there remains some dissatisfaction among federation insiders who believe that the current administration is failing to focus on a long-term development plan for the game.

At the AGM - wherever it's held - the BFI will elect new leaders and executive committee. While Sharma fights to a) keep the AGM in Pune and b) keep her CEO position, she can also count on the support of associates elected as representatives in other states who have had her support to win their state-level elections.

A prime example of this is in Maharashtra, where the experienced previous secretary of the Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA) M. Venkatesh did not find a place for himself in the new structuring of the state federation last month to the surprise of many who respected his work for leading the development of basketball in Maharashtra and nation-wide. BJP politician and Mumbai North Member of Parliament Poonam Mahajan was voted unanimously as the MSBA’s new president while; Venkatesh was excluded was the entire 15-member executive committee. The General Secretary and President of each state federation in India gets a vote at the national level in choosing the BFI's general-secretary. With favourable individuals at the helm of the states, the BFI leadership can hope to extend their hold of the national power structure.

Sud has unwittingly become the latest pawn to fall in this elaborate game that is more chess than basketball. When I interviewed him a few months ago, Sud had told me that he would definitely be trying for another term as Secretary-General at the AGM, but had added that, "There is a lot of politics going on in the BFI,". Now, a few weeks before the event itself, he has counted himself out of the running. He now serves only as the secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Basketball Association (HPBA).

Photo courtesy: Ekalavyas.com

Meanwhile, Venkatesh - who remains as one of the Vice Presidents of the BFI - has said that there is much work to be done to save the future of basketball in India.

“We should have a long-term plan,” Venkatesh told me, “We have foreign coaches, but our coaches should not be idle. They should always been doing something. We have plan for the Asian Basketball Championship (ABC) two years ahead every time. Who has to make the plan? Grassroots training isn't targeted or planned, either. That is the future of basketball in India. But we are continuing with the same old people and not getting any better performances at the ABC. When Harish Sharma was there, he was Secretary-General, the CEO of BFI, the Secretary-General of Middle Asia Zone, member of FIBA Asia, and IOA president. Today we don't have any Indian representation in FIBA Asia, Middle Asia etc."

Last summer, when India’s Men’s national team overcame the wildest odds and 40 spots of FIBA ranking to defeat the mighty China for the first time in the nation’s basketball history, it seemed that basketball in India was ready to take a great leap forward. American Head Coach Scott Flemming had successfully inspired the underdog side through self-belief and team-spirit to challenge several more talented teams at the FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan (China) and ushered in a promise of international success ahead.

Unfortunately, back home in their own country, India’s basketball heroes have returned to a different kind of team. To a broken federation of associations that are running the sport in India and allowing internal politics to stunt the growth of India’s basketball potential. Fans of the game will hope that there is a quick and clean resolution to the power struggle at the top and the BFI returns to the path of thinking about the sport, instead of thinking about itself.

Poonam Mahajan becomes the first woman president of Maharashtra State Basketball Association

Poonam Mahajan - a Member of Parliament from Mumbai North Central and a politician of the BJP - was voted in unanimously as the new president of the Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA) during the Annual General Meeting of the association on Sunday, January 18th. Mahajan becomes the first women to be MSBA president in the association's 65-year history, reported The Times of India.

Mahajan succeeds outgoing MSBA president Jaidev Shroff to the post, who now becomes the MSBA's chairman. The previous chairman of the MSBA was M Venkatesh.

Mahajan told The Times of India that her plans for the MSBA include providing support for the players and improving basketball infrastructure in the state.

"It is quite amazing to see basketball being played across all villages in Maharashtra. Basketball has been my favourite sport since childhood and I am very fortunate to lead MSBA," she said.

"The challenges are enormous but with my experience, I will be able to meet them. It will be my endeavour to take the game to even greater heights with the help of all my colleagues in MSBA."

Maharashtra has some of the richest basketball culture in all of the country, featuring well-organized district, state, college, and school tournaments as well as playing host to some of India's best national invitational tournaments, like the Savio Cup and the Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament. Kudos to Mahajan for breaking a gender barrier in the MSBA fraternity, but how much sense does it make to hand someone with no basketball playing/operational experience (except for it being her "favourite" sport) to lead the basketball association of the entire state?

Basketball in Maharashtra has not been without its turmoil over the past year. In November, the MSBA faced protest from several district associations from the state in the form of a letter requesting for a removal of MSBA officials for causing irregularities, miscommunication, and the misuse of power. That letter was sent to the media by Shatrughan Gokhale, the secretary of the Nagpur District Basketball Association. After the most recent AGM on Sunday, Gokhale was named one of the five vice-presidents of the MSBA.

Madhya Pradesh (Boys) and Kerala (Girls) win 41st Sub Jr National Basketball Championship in Nashik

After winning a memorable double at last year's Sub Junior Nationals, Chhattisgarh's Boys and Girls had a chance to make it a 'double-double' when both teams qualified for the Finals at the tournament in Nashik (Maharashtra) this year. But their opponents had other plans: In two exciting final games at Nashik's Meenathai Thakrey Stadium on Friday, November 28, Madhya Pradesh (Boys) and Kerala (Girls) teams denied a repeat result at India's 41st Sub-Jr National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls by bringing back the gold their respective states. The two final games marked an end to the week-long tournament featuring 45 of the best under-14 boys and girls teams from across the country.

The tournament was organized by the Basketball Federation and India (BFI) and IMG Reliance along with the Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA).

The boys final was a rematch between Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh from last year. The two neighbouring states - one born out of the other over a decade ago - played in a tough, defensive final a year ago where Chhattisgarh emerged as winners. This was MP's third consecutive boys' final appearance, and finally, they ended their losing streak at the last stand of this competition with a high-scoring finish. After trailing by 13 in the first quarter, MP responded with a bang in the second and trailed by just three at halftime. Behind scintillating performances by Amit Singh Chouhan (31) and Manish Prasad (19), MP continued at their fast pace to stretch their lead out to a 94-82 win. Salim Ali (26) and Saif Ali Khan (24) were the leading scorers for Chhattisgarh.

The women's final was a meeting of familiar foes - Kerala and Chhattisgarh - two teams that marked the most successful junior girls basketball programmes in the country. Chhattisgarh had won every single girls' Sub-Junior title since 2002, an astonishing twelve titles in a row. But their dominant streak finally came to an end on Friday evening. Led by 36 points and nine rebounds by inspirational captain Sreekala R, Kerala overturned a two-point halftime deficit to charge ahead in the third quarter and hold off Chhattisgarh's comeback attempts in the final period to win 78-72. Despite their success at the youth and junior levels, this was actually Kerala's first Sub-Junior nationals victory in the tournament's 41-year history. For Chhattisgarh, Elizabeth Ekka scored a game-high 37 points while Neha Karva added 17.

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards at the championship were handed to Kerala's Sreekala R (Girls) and MP's Mani Thakur (MP).

Earlier on in the day, the girls' bronze-medal game became an epic one-on-one encounter featuring two of the most impressive scoring performances ever seen at the national Sub-Junior level in India. Haryana's Meenu and Uttar Pradesh's Vaishnavi Yadav turned the game into their personal playground. Meenu scored a mammoth 65 points - a tournament high - breaking her own record of a 50-point game in the semi-final loss just a day earlier. In response, Yadav had 57 for UP to keep her side in the game. In a close back-and-forth contest, UP bounced back in the fourth quarter after trailing by five to win the game 98-95. In the boys' bronze game, Kuldeep S scored 21 to help Rajasthan defeat Odisha 73-61. Suresh D had 29 for Odisha in a losing effort.

On Thursday, Haryana's Meenu had taken part in a prior one-on-one duel, this time against the tournament's eventual MVP and champion Sreekala R of Kerala. The first girls' semi-final was held between Kerala and Haryana, which the former won quiet comfortably 96-78 after leading by just one at halftime. Once again, the story of the game however was an individual duel. Sreekala scored 42 to help her team win the match while Meenu poured in 50 in a losing effort. For Kerala, Aparna also added 28 in the win. In the other semi-final, Chhattisgarh defeated UP 73-65 thanks to 22 points by Elizabeth Ekka. Vaishnavi Yadav (34) and Shivangi G (16) were UP's leading scorers.

Eventual boys' winners MP fended off their semi-final challengers Odisha were relative ease, 78-61 behind 22 points by D. Raj and 16 by Harshwardhan. Odisha's best performers were Suresh Das (20) and Suresh (18). Chhattisgarh's duo of Salim Ali (18) and Saif Ali Khan (17) were at their best against Rajasthan in a high-scoring win, 96-85. While Chhattisgarh had a small edge to the game throughout, the single-handed efforts of Kuldeep Singh (36) kept Rajasthan contending till the very end.

Final Scores

• Girls: Kerala (Sreekala R. 36, Aparna Sadasivan 15, Danielie Mathews 13) bt Chhattisgarh (Elizabet Ekka 37, Neha Karva 17) 78-72 (22-18, 13-19, 21-11, 22-24).
  
• Boys: Madhya Pradesh (Amit Singh Chouhan 31, Manish Prasad 19, Mani Thakur 13) bt Chhattisgarh (Salim Ali 26, Saif Ali Khan 24) 94-82 (16-29, 28-18, 25-18, 25-17).
  

Third/Fourth Place Games

• Girls: Uttar Pradesh (Vaishnavi Yadav 57) bt Haryana (Meenu 65) 98-95 (27-27, 13-16, 24-26, 34-26).
  
• Boys: Rajasthan (Kuldeep S. 21) bt Odisha (Suresh Das 29) 73-61 (20-11, 11-10, 20-20, 22-20).
  

Final Standings Girls

• 1. Kerala
  
• 2. Chhattisgarh
  
• 3. Uttar Pradesh
  
• 4. Haryana
  
• 5. Tamil Nadu
  

Boys

• 1. Madhya Pradesh
  
• 2. Chhattisgarh
  
• 3. Rajasthan
  
• 4. Odisha
  
• 5. Haryana
  

Maharashtra State Basketball Association facing protest from district associations

10 district associations in the state of Maharashtra have joined hands to protest against the Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA), requesting for a removal of MSBA officials for causing irregularities, miscommunication, and the misuse of power. The protest was raised by Shatrughan Gokhale, the secretary of the Nagpur District Basketball Association, in an open letter to the MSBA sent via the media. The letter comes out at a curious time, when Maharashtra's Nashik district is hosting the 41st Sub-Jr National Basketball Championship.

In his letter, Gokhale alleges that several MSBA officials have refused to give up their seats long after the mandatory end to their maximum four-year term and not conducted enough management committee meetings in the past year.

Gokhale's district of Nagpur, along with Bhandara, Gondia, Gadchiroli, Wardha, Amravati, Yoetmal, Washim, Akola, and Buldhana have joined hands officially in the protest. The letter further states that up to five more districts will be joining the dissenting group over the coming days, and memorandums will be sent to the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the Maharashtra Olympic Association (MOA), and the Director of Sports, Pune.

Some excerpts from Gohkale's letter, via Ekalavyas.com

A managing committee meeting is required to decide and conduct the state championships in various age categories, to appoint selection committee and coaches for the national championships, to maintain and pass the regular accounts of association, to discuss and decide on the grievances of players, coaches and various districts and many similar issues.With just two managing committee meetings in its four-year term the MSBA failed to perform the basic responsibility required to run any association.

Our decision to start this drive now is because all the state tournaments being conducted under the banner of MSBA after its term expired in April are unauthorized. Being an affiliated unit we do not have a choice but to play in these unauthorized championships. If we do not participate then our players will be at loss. With no choice left we all decided to start this drive.

Read the full letter here for more of the group's demands to the MSBA.

India’s All Star Weekend: Basketball stars shine on courts dedicated to Harish Sharma

If you were an outsider to India’s hoop universe looking for a weekend crash course to everything in Indian Basketball, then the last couple of days in Mumbai were your chance: Over three dozen of the most talented and famous Men and Women Indian basketball players descended to the Mastan YMCA basketball courts in Nagpada for the 3rd Indian Basketball All Star Showcase, held from May 3rd-5th.

Click here to read full article

Indian Basketball's All Star Showcase to tip off in Mumbai

The third Indian Basketball All Star showcase – a weekend highlighting the talents of India’s finest Men and Women basketball players – is set to be held at the Mastan YMCA Courts in Mumbai from May 3-5, 2012. Like previous years, the event will feature well-known basketball players from all across the country taking part in All Star Games, shooting, and dunking competitions. Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA) will host this year’s events dedicated to the memory of the late CEO of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) Harish Sharma.

Click here to read full article

Indian Basketball: The Corporate Takeover

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In the last few months, first there was Mahindra teaming up with the NBA to promote the Mahindra-NBA Challenge. Then there was Reliance who teamed up with US-based sports marketing company IMG Worldwide to develop sports facilities and leagues in India. Now, with the appointment of United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) CEO Jaidev Shroff as the president of the Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA), it seems that another large corporation has joined the race to profit through sports, and specifically, basketball.

The MSBA unanimously elected Shroff as president recently. Shroff has been supporting several sporting events in different fields for the past 15 years. This will be a crucial time for Shroff to take over the MSBA helm as basketball is growing at an unprecendent rate in Maharashtra and in Mumbai (which was crowned as India's Basketball City on this site).

Shroff has a corporate background, and the UPL has been supporting two annual basketball tournaments in Mumbai - the Ramu Memorial Tournament and the Savio Cup.

From SportzPower.com:

Commenting on this situation, MSBA Secretary M Venkatesh, said, “Maharashtra has been a strong hub for basketball. With the National Basketball Association (NBA) lending its might in promoting the game, the MSBA is eager to utilise this opportunity to further strengthen the game. The Association will focus on the grass root level, increase the participation of athletes as well as train talented players to increase the overall standard of the game in Maharashtra.”
Laying down his vision, Shroff said, “The responsibility is huge, but I'm sure I will get the complete support from all office bearers to promote basketball.”

Shroff stated that the involvement of corporate houses in the decision-making process of sports administration is good news for Indian sports and would take it to a new horizon. "The UPL Group has always supported the sports in India by offering scholarships to deserving students and we will continue to do so in the future."

One of the future (perhaps exciting) plans for the UPL with the MSBA is to introduce the 'Hoop-A-Loop League' - not really sure what it is, but it will be played in the weekends in Mumbai.

Led by the commercially super-succesful IPL, India seems to have truly woken up to the business of sport. I'll quote Abhaya Srivastava from his recent article on this growing phenomenon: "For many the success of the IPL was a symbol of the new India -- an emerging economic powerhouse, pumped up with self-confidence and aspiring to assert itself in the global arena." Srivastava goes on to say that allegations of corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in the IPL have tarnished the sports/business relationship a little bit, but I don't believe that it is enough to stop this expanding snowball. The IPL will survive the scandal and continue successfully, and from the looks of it, other corporations will continue to see green in sports, too.

Has the time truly arrived for India to take sports seriously? When I say 'seriously', I mean in the only way that really matters for a sport's promotion, through money. Mahindra, Reliance, UPL... these are all big companies with big money to potentially invest in basketball. Forget about our socialist beginnings, India is now an uber-capitalist country where to really make it you have to make it by yourself. No government is going to be there to hold your hand through it. I have been a staunch believer that success stories in India have really come despite the government, and this belief holds in the case of basketball, too.

There is of course the ugly, annoying negative side. We have all seen it happen with the IPL. Advertisements during ball breaks, commercial breaks interrupting crucial replays, a six being called a DLF-Maximum and (well respected) commentators being obliged to mention the MRF-blimp every chance they get. It's tragic to see when celebrities are celebrated more than cricketers. Capitalism in sport is a double-edged sword, because if corporates decide to sell-out basketball the same way they did with T-20 cricket it would popularise the game to a wider audience but simultaneously take the focus and soul away from the game itself.

There needs to be a sensitive balance between commercialisation and maintaining the soul of the game, and the next few years could be very telling in the growth of basketball in India.

Do you agree with Shroff? Is the involvement of corporate houses in the decision making of sports, and in our particular case, basketball, a good move for Indian sports?

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