August 2, 2010

NBA launches the Mahindra Challenge in Ludhiana


After successful implementation of the Mahindra-NBA Challenge in Mumbai and Bangalore, the National Basketball Association (NBA) launched the Ludhiana leg of their first ever, community-based, recreational basketball league on July 31st at the city’s Guru Nanak Stadium. The league will run for seven weeks and feature multiple divisions: boys and girls ages 14-17 and men and woman ages 18 and over. The BFI is working with the NBA to implement and oversee league operations.

Ludhiana is the third and final league to launch as part of the inaugural Mahindra NBA Challenge. The league in Mumbai – which culminated in early June – attracted more than 1,000 participants, while the league in Bangalore launched on July 17 with more than 85 of the top teams from across the city.

“The inaugural Mahindra NBA Challenge has been exceedingly well received in India and we are looking forward to launching the league in Ludhiana. This format helps us promote the sport at the grassroots level which has been the core of our beliefs,” said Deputy General Manager of the Mahindra Group Mr. Mufaddal Choonia. “The NBA is the perfect partner to help us bring communities together and promote healthy, active lifestyles to Indian youth.”

The Ludhiana champions will be determined in a weekend-long postseason tournament on September 25 and 26 played at the Gurua Nanak Stadium.

“The NBA is committed to developing the sport of basketball in India and we want to thank our partners at Mahindra and BFI for helping to launch our first community league in the country,” said NBA President of International Heidi Ueberroth. “We were delighted to see the incredible enthusiasm of the participants during the first two legs of the Mahindra NBA Challenge, and we look forward to seeing a similar level of passion for basketball when the league launches in Ludhiana.”

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