India's finest next gen ballers show up for 40th Sub-Junior Nationals in Patna

A total of 45 teams representing various Indian states - 24 boys and 21 girls - have descended to Patna (Bihar), to take part in India's top competition for the youngest members of the official basketball fraternity. The 40th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship for boys and girls - featuring the country's finest under-14 players - will be tipping off at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna on August 18th. The tournament, organized by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in collaboration with the newly affiliated Bihar Basketball Association, will be held until August 25th.

The tournament's holding champions - West Bengal Boys and Chattisgarh Girls who won last year's championship in Goa - will be back to try and defend their titles this year.

While most of the matches will be held at the indoor courts at the Paltiputra Sports Complex, a few games have also been scheduled at the Bihar Military Police outdoor courts.

Here is the full list of participating teams in their groups:

Boys

Level 1
Group A: West Bengal, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu.
Group B: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand.
Level 2
Group C: Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh.
Group D: Kerala, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir.
Group E: Odisha, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand.
Group F: Bihar, Assam, Mizoram, Tripura.

Girls

Level 1
Group A: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Jharkhand.
Group B: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab.
Level 2
Group C: West Bengal, Chandigarh, Delhi.
Group D: Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan.
Group E: Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir.

Anticipating a successful tournament ahead, the BFI's CEO, Roopam Sharma, said: "The BFI is thankful to the Bihar Basketball Association for rendering their support in organizing and hosting the event. With the popularity of the sport growing in leaps and bounds, I am certain that this tournament will showcase competitive games and a pool of young talented players.”

Click here for the full list of fixtures at the championship.