BFI announces India's Women's Basketball Squad for 2013 FIBA Asia Championship

The most talented women in Indian basketball have been brought together for a chance to improve the country's standings as they prepare for the upcoming 25th FIBA Asia Championship for Women, set to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 27 - November 3. India, who finished sixth in the previous edition of the championship two years ago, will enter this year in the tournament's higher 'Level 1'. This tournament will also be the biggest challenge thus far of India's newly-appointed senior women's head coach, the Spaniard Francisco Garcia.

India Women's Coach Francisco Garcia.
Photo via: BFI

Team India probables had been in training camp over the past few months at the SAI Center in Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Now, with only a few weeks left to go for the 2013 Women's FIBA ABC, the team will follow the tradition of other recent Indian national squads and head to Dongguan, China, from October 15-25 for practice/preparation games at the NBA/CBA Basketball School there.

India's roster for the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship

• S. Kokila (Indian Railways)
  
• Anitha Paul Durai (Indian Railways)
  
• Raspreet Sidhu (Delhi)
  
• Sharanjeet Kaur (Chhattisgarh)
  
• Jeena PS (Kerala)
  
• Shireen Limaye (Maharashtra)
  
• Stephy Nixon (Kerala)
  
• Smruthi Radhakrishnan (Indian Railways/Maharashtra)
  
• Manisha Dange (Indian Railways/Maharashtra)
  
• Geethu Anna Jose (Indian Railways)
  
• Prashanti Singh (Delhi)
  
• Akanksha Singh (Delhi)
  
• Head Coach: Francisco Garcia
  
• Coach: Abdul Hameed Khan
  
• Manager: Jayavanti Shyam
  

The roster is an exciting mix of experienced talents and fresh blood to amp up the team's energy. Jeena PS, the talented young Keralite, is one of those young talents who can be a big star for the future and will be looking to make her presence felt. Former captain Prashanti Singh will be making a comeback into the team after missing out due to fitness issues last year. And of course, the centerpiece of Indian Women - as it has been for the past decade - is once again the uber-talented Geethu Anna Jose, who will once again be expected to challenge the best players in Asia.

India are in Level 1 of the championship, where they will play against the top tier talent in the Preliminary Round, including China (the holding champions), Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, and Kazakhstan. Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Uzbekistan are in Level II.