Rain disrupts 2015 Youth Nationals Finals; Tamil Nadu/Delhi (Boys) and Tamil Nadu/Chhattisgarh (Girls) declared joint winners

The 32nd Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls in Bhavnagar (Gujarat) began under the unkind threat of rain last week. And by the time the tournament - featuring India's finest under-16 basketball players - concluded on Monday, September 21, the rain remained the only thing undefeated.

Heavy rainfall washed out the boys and girls Finals the games at the MK Bhavnagar University on Monday, leaving the Basketball Federation of India's (BFI) Technical Commission with no choice but to cancel all the contests and declare all participants 'winners'. Tamil Nadu and Delhi shared the gold medal in the boys' category while Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh were declared champions in the girls' section.

It isn't a surprise that the tailend of the monsoon season provides heavy rainfall in various parts of the country, including Gujarat. But what is a shock is that the tournament's organizers did not have an indoor venue to conduct the games. In recent years, all of the national BFI tournaments have been conducted at indoor courts, with only a few games at an alternative outdoor venue. But the Youth Nationals - the first national conducted by the new BFI executive committee - was an exception, as all the games were held on outdoor courts, despite the threat of unfriendly weather.

The BFI split into two opposing committees earlier this year, with each questioning the legality of the other in an ongoing off-court battle. But Team Govindraj - the BFI faction behind the organization of the 32nd Youth Nationals - have held firm of their stand atop the federation and continued to hold events in India and abroad as normal.

Tamil Nadu did a double in both boys and girls category at the Youth Nationals last year and were looking to repeat the feat this time around. However, they have had to settle for sharing the title with Delhi and Chhattisgarh in the boys' and girls' section respectively.

P. Baladhaneshwar from Tamil Nadu was named as the boys’ MVP for the tournament. This is his second MVP trophy in two years at the Youth National Basketball Championship. For the girls, Chhattisgarh’s Gulabsha Ali was named MVP.

Maharashtra Girls defeated Punjab 51-42 behind 17 points by Rujata Pawar in the Bronze Medal game to finish third. The Boys' Bronze Medal game was also washed out due to rain and thus, both Haryana and Punjab were adjudged to finish at third place.

A day earlier, the Semi-Finals had given basketball fans a little more reason to cheer. In the Girls' section, Chhattisgarh's rising new talent Gulabsha Ali scored 24 points to help her side defeat Maharashtra to enter the Final. After a close first quarter, a 22-9 run by Chhattisgarh in the second quarter sealed the deal, and Chhattisgarh never looked back. The second girls' semi-final between TN and Punjab got off to a low-scoring start, with Punjab leading 16-15 at halftime. But scoring - chiefly from TN's end - got into a higher gear after the halftime break, and TN finished the final two quarters clinically to win 52-39. Punjab's Sakshi had 18 in a losing effort.

The boys' semi final between TN and Haryana saw several exceptional individual performances, including TN's duo of P. Baladhaneshwar (23) and GK Manikandan (20) and Haryana's Rinku (22). But it was TN who kept their command of the game most of the way, and were untroubled except a late run by Haryana. TN won 72-62. In the second boys' semi-final, Delhi started the first quarter against Punjab in ruthless fashion, putting forward a 24-4 to take away all hope from their opponents. The rest of the game was a cruise for Delhi en route to a 67-47 win. Manik (21), Hansraj (19), and Sourav (17) were the top scorers for Delhi, while Abhi Kumar scored 22 for Punjab in a losing effort.

Final Scores

• Boys: Tamil Nadu vs. Delhi - washed out.
  
• Girls: Tamil Nadu vs. Chhattisgarh - washed out.
  

Third/Fourth Place

• Boys: Punjab vs. Haryana - washed out.
  
• Girls: Maharashtra (Rutuja Pawar 17, Neha Vinod Shahu 14, Shruti Sherigar 13) bt. Punjab (Sakshi Sharma 14) 51-42 (11-9, 6-11, 15-10, 19-12).
  

Final Standings

Boys

1. Tamil Nadu and Delhi
3. Haryana and Punjab
5. Kerala

Girls

1. Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh

3. Maharashtra 

4. Punjab 

5. Madhya Pradesh

32nd Youth National Basketball Championship tipped off in Bhavnagar yesterday

When rainfall hit the courts at Bhavnagar (Gujarat) on Monday afternoon, all the outdoor basketball action came to a halt. It took a couple of hours before the dark clouds cleared the skies and the Youth Nationals - India's best domestic exhibition of U16 basketball talent - continued.

But the metaphorical dark clouds have remained hovering over all basketball activities in India all year. It is to the credit of this resilient, disputed faction of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) that the show has continued to go on, and Indian basketball - domestic and international - hasn't yet come to a complete halt despite the speed-bumps on the way.

On Monday, September 14th, the 32nd Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls tipped off at the outdoor courts of Bhavnagar University. The week-long tournament is set to feature 22 boys' teams and 21 girls' teams in a showcase of the finest next-generation basketball players in India. The championship is being organized by the Gujarat State Basketball Association under the aegis of one of the two disputing factions of the BFI. The BFI split into two opposing committees earlier this year, with each questioning the legality of the other in an ongoing off-court battle. But Team Govindraj - the BFI faction behind the organization of the 32nd Youth Nationals - have held firm of their stand atop the federation and continued to hold events in India and abroad as normal.

On-court, the action promises to be much more palatable for fans of the game itself. Tamil Nadu have entered the tournament as reigning champions in both boys and girls divisions from last year's Youth Nationals in Chandigarh. Kerala - the runners-up in both divisions - will look to finish one better this time, while the squads from Karnataka and Maharashtra (Girls) and Haryana and Chhattisgarh (Boys) will have their eyes on the prize, too. The finals of the tournament will be held on September 20.

The first morning of the tournament saw Tamil Nadu Girls cruise to an easy victory over southern neighbours Andhra Pradesh 49-12. In the other Level 1 game in the girls’ category, Haryana pulled off an unlikely 61-49 victory against last year’s runners up Kerala, on the back of Meena’s 22 points. In the boys' division, Karnataka notched a win over Jammu and Kashmir Chandigarh scraped past West Bengal.

32nd Youth Nationals Participating Teams and Groupings

Boys

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

Girls

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

At the tournament's opening ceremony on Monday, all the invited teams participated in a march-past led by a trained marching band. Chief Guest for the ceremony was Nanubhai Vanani, the Sports Minister of Gujarat. Other dignitaries present included Mansukhbhai Mandaviya (M.P., Rajya Sabha) and Jitubhai Vaghani (M.L.A., Bhavnagar West). From the BFI, Secretary General Chander Mukhi Sharma was present and addressed the crowd. He requested all coaches to ensure maximum output from their team players as the selection committee was watching all games and all teams. Dr. Shailesh Zala, Vice Chancellor, Bhavnagar University, declared the event open. Karp Impex Group, involved in the business of diamond polishing, crafting and sale and based out of Surat, Gujarat, is the main sponsor for the event.

And yes, although rainfall interrupted the day's basketball events a little bit, the skies cleared and games eventually went on as scheduled. Hopefully, the skies over the BFI infighting can clear soon, too, and Indian basketball can continue uninterrupted in the future.

Selected Opening Day Results

Girls

• Tamil Nadu bt Andhra Pradesh 49-12 (19-3, 15-0, 13-4, 2-5).
  
• Haryana (Meena 22) bt Kerala 61-49 (18-14, 10-9, 19-10, 14-16).