Amjyot Singh and Jeena Scaria honoured at #TOISA2018 Basketball Awards

This article was first published in my 'Hoopistani' column for The Times of India Sports on February 27, 2018. Click here to read the original piece.

For 26-year-old Amjyot Singh, the cricketer-turned-basketball superstar from Chandigarh, the moment was at the NBA G-League Draft on October 21, when his name was selected by the Oklahoma City Blue. A week later, he donned the jersey and stepped on court for the Blue, officially joining the select club of Indians in the NBA’s minor league.

For 24-year-old Jeena Scaria, the former high-jumper from Kerala who now jumps high on the basketball court, the moment was Puducherry on January 14 last year, when time expired on Kerala’s 68-59 victory over Telangana and secured her state’s first Senior Nationals title in over thirty-years. Scaria, dominant throughout the tournament, was her team’s unofficial MVP in this triumph.

Singh and Scaria are two basketball maestros in their prime, arguable the best male and female basketball players in the country right now. It was only right, then, that on one of the biggest nights in India sports, the two were honoured for their memorable performances over the past year.

Basketball honours were handed out for the first time at the Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA-2018) on Monday. Singh was named the Basketball Player of the Year by the jury’s choice, and Scaria the Basketball Player of the Year by popular choice. Both players were in attendance at the gala event in Mumbai on Monday, among a number of India’s top athletes. Badminton star Kidambi Srikanth claimed the highest honour of the night as India’s 2018 Sportsman of the Year.

Over the past year, Amjyot Singh’s crowning achievement was to become the second Indian (after Satnam Singh) to make it to the NBA’s G-League with the Oklahoma City Blue in late October. The sharp-shooting 6-foot-8 forward has seen his role grow with the Blue over the past few months and has taken a step closer to the NBA than any Indian citizen before him. Back home, Amjyot continued to be a lynchpin for India’s national team. He was India’s captain at the FIBA Asia Cup, and finished the tournament leading the team in points (13.0) and assists (4.3). He was also India’s top player at other international trips to the William Jones Cup and the BRICS Games.

Jeena Scaria took centre-stage for her home state when she led Kerala to their first Senior Nationals gold medal since the mid-eighties. She was one of India’s top players in the squad that won Division B at the FIBA Asia Women’s Cup in Bengaluru in July. She was also part of India’s 3×3 team which made it to the semi-final of the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in Mongolia in late October.

Both players will now hope to script another memorable year in 2018. Singh continues to earn bit minutes for the Blue and is growing more comfortable in the league with each passing game.

Later this year, India will hope that he returns to the national team for a number of important tournaments, including the Common Wealth Games in Australia, FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in Syria and Jordan, and the Asian Games in Indonesia. Scaria will be counted on to be a leader for India’s Women’s team at the CommonWealth Games and the Asian Games, too.

This honour should boost the confidence of both these talented players so they can elevate their game to an even higher level over the next few years.

Meet the Indian basketball stars nominated for 2018 Times of India Sports Awards

This piece was first published in my column for The Times of India Sports on January 30, 2018. Click here to read the original piece.

Despite its large population, India is still a relative minnow in international basketball, a nation where one of the world’s most popular sports is only an afterthought. While the sport has developed considerably over the past decade, India is still looking for a spark to ignite the next generation.

That spark can be provided with star-power. With Yao Ming, China got a readymade superstar who helped turn an entire generation of young Chinese into basketball fans. India has a considerably different sports atmosphere, and although basketball might never become the country’s top sport, it could gain considerable fan following with successful role models.

No, there’s no Indian ‘Yao’ in the horizon, yet; but we feature our own set of star players who have been grinding away over the past few years and found success on the domestic and international stage. This year, for the first time, the Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA) 2018 will feature an award for India’s best basketball player. Here are the five nominees, and each of their years in review.

Amritpal Singh: 2017 was certainly a banner year for Punjab’s Amritpal Singh (26), headlined by the news that he became the first-ever Indian to play for Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL). After impressing in workouts, training camps, and the pre-season tour, Amritpal was signed by the Sydney Kings and has since played a consistent backup role in the NBL. For the national team, where he is the starting center for India, Amritpal played in many major tournaments including the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, the FIBA Asia Cup, and the South Asian Basketball Championship. In the latter, he captained India to a victory and was the tournament’s MVP. Amritpal was also best player of the Uttarakhand and ONGC’s squads that won gold medals in the two biggest domestic basketball meets in 2017: The Senior Nationals and the Federation Cup.

Amjyot Singh: Like his fellow front-court mate Amritpal, Amjyot Singh (26) of Chandigarh broke barriers and made history for Indian basketball. Amjyot’s crowning achievement was to become the second Indian (after Satnam Singh) to make it to the NBA’s G-League with the Oklahoma City Blue in late October. The sharp-shooting 6-foot-8 forward has seen his role grow with the Blue over the past few months and has taken a step closer to the NBA than any Indian citizen before him. Back home, Amjyot continued to be a lynchpin for India’s national team. He was India’s captain at the FIBA Asia Cup, and finished the tournament leading the team in points (13.0) and assists (4.3). He was also India’s top player at other international trips to the William Jones Cup and the BRICS Games.

Anitha Paul Durai: 2017 marked the beginning of Paul Durai’s (32) “second innings” with Indian basketball. The veteran forward from Chennai returned to the national team after a maternity leave and enjoyed a stellar comeback. She was the captain of the national team and leading scorer (16.4 ppg) when India won Division B of the FIBA Asia Cup for Women held in Bengaluru. When India’s U16 squad stepped out to participate in the Youth version of the same Women’s Cup in Bengaluru later in the year, Paul Durai got her first chance to serve as the team’s assistant coach. Like the seniors, the U16 team won Division B and promotion into Division A.

Jeena Scaria: Scaria (24) took centre-stage for her home state when she led Kerala to their first Senior Nationals gold medal in over thirty years. She was one of India’s top players in the squad that won Division B at the FIBA Asia Women’s Cup in Bengaluru in July. She was also part of India’s 3x3 team which made it to the semi-final of the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup in Mongolia in late October.

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi: Bhriguvanshi (26), India’s best backcourt player and a former national captain, had a topsy-turvy year, but still managed enough to make it to the list of nominees. He became the first Indian to ink a training deal with an Australian NBL team: the Adelaide 36ers. In his first appearance at the UBA Basketball League, Bhriguvanshi was named the league’s Indian MVP, averaging around 28 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds per game, and led the Bengaluru Beast to their first UBA Finals. He helped India win gold at the South Asian Basketball Championship in Maldives and also played in the BRICS Games and the FIBA Asia Cup. An injury in the former, however, side-lined the star guard, and India suffered in international matches without him.

One of these players will go home with the honour of being TOISA 2018’s best basketball player. You can make your own voice heard and vote for the TOISA Sports Awards here.