Aparna Ghosh - Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame

She has dedicated a lifetime to the sport of basketball in India, and with the Dhyan Chand Award, been appropriately celebrated for her service. Today, I add the great Aparna Ghosh into the Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame.

Hailing from Bolpur in West Bengal, Ghosh has been one of the most accomplished players and coaches in Indian basketball, playing for the national team for 16 years and going on to become a highly-successful coach for Indian Railways. Since substituting herself to lead the charge from the coaches' bench, Ghosh has led Indian Railways women to a myriad of success for several years. She currently serves as the Sports Officer at RSPB of the Railway Board.

In 2002, Ghosh was honoured with the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement in sports and games, handed by the Indian government. She is one of only two basketball personalities in India to receive this honour.

Ghosh has also served as part of India's national coaching system, and was the national women's team assistant coach at the 2015 FIBA Asia Women's Championship. She has served in the organising committee of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and in the same year was picked to be in a select group of Indian coaches to receive training at the George Mason University in the USA. In 2015, Ghosh was given a lifetime achievement award by the Calcutta Sports Journalist Club.

Click here for more of the Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame.

Ram Kumar: Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame

Photo courtesy: Punjabbasketball.org

For some, basketball just flows in the genes, giving them a natural magnetism towards the game, a magnetism that could potentially become a reality with hard work and persistence. One of India's most-respected coaches and accomplished former players, Ram Kumar is one such individuals, carrying on his father's legacy with the game, winning the Dhyan Chand Award, and now, landing up in the Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame.

Ram Kumar was born in Delhi in 1964, the son of basketball great and Arjuna Awardee Khushi Ram, who was added to the Hall of Fame last month. Kumar's own basketball career began in 1983, when he played his first Nationals in Calicut. He moved to Income Tax and then joined Indian Railways in the mid-80s, which became his professional home. Representing the Railways, Kumar - an extraordinary shooting-guard - won eight gold, three silver, and three bronze medals over the next decade and a half.

Ram represented India's national basketball team from 1991-1996, and served as the captain from 1991-1995. During his peak years, he stood out as India's top scorer at many international events, including the 1995 FIBA ABC in Seoul. He played in several international Railway Games, test matches in the USA, and more.

After his retirement from playing in 2003, Kumar was appointed the coach of Indian Railways basketball squad, whom he has since shepherded to many more honours. He has served as coach of India's junior basketball team and continues to be a part of India's national coaching system, contributing to the training and scouting of players hopeful of breaking into the senior teams. Kumar is currently working as a Senior Sports Officer at Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala.

A highlight of Kumar's career was winning the Dhyan Chand Award in 2003 for lifetime contribution to sports, becoming one of only two Indian basketball players to receive this prestigious honour. Kumar was also handed the Maharana Pratap Award in 1989 and the Rail Minister Award in 1994. His illustrious family also included another former India basketball captain and his brother, Asok Kumar.

Click here for more of the Indian Basketball Hall of Fame.

Milestones in Indian Basketball (2015 Update!)

It's India's 69th Independence Day today, it's the day where we celebrate the anniversary of when that the fruits of the labours of our founding fathers - Gandhi, Nehru, Bose, Bhagat Singh, Azad, and so many more - came to realization. It's the day that India began its tryst with destiny.

Since 'Hoopistani' is the self-proclaimed holy-scripture of Indian Basketball, it is a must that this blog should celebrate Indian Independence Day in a special manner, too. Earlier this week, the Hoopdarshan podcast - hosted by myself and Kaushik Lakshman - released a special Independence Day episode, where we gave listeners a lesson in Indian basketball history, capturing its greatest moments and highest achievers. We also spoke to India's former Women's NT captain Prashanti Singh. The podcast was a retelling of an article I wrote on this blog over five years ago, listing the greatest milestones and individual award winners in Indian basketball.

Since then, history has come closer to fans of Indian hoops, with steady development in the sport racking up new milestones at an accelerating level. With the most current state of the game in mind, here is the 2015 update. Of course, with 85 years of hoops history in the country, not every major moment can be captured. These are the highest of the highlights; feel free to suggest any other major milestones that should be considered in the comments section below.

• circa 1930: This is when many people believe that basketball was first introduced in India, through the YMCA organizations. It's believed that Kapurthala in Punjab is where they first played the game.
  
• 1934: The first Indian National Championship for men is held in New Delhi.
  
• 1936: The Indian National Team (The Young Cagers) become a member of FIBA.
  
• 1950: The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is formed.
  
• 1951: New Delhi hosts first-ever Asian games. India Men finishes fourth (out of five) in basketball tournament. Philippines wins.
  
• 1965: India appeared for its first International Basketball Championship in 1965. The India Captain, Khushi Ram was the second best scorer in the tournament
  
• 1975: The Men's National team finished fourth in the FIBA Asia Championship in Bangkok, the highest finish for India in the men's division.
  
• 1980: The Men's National team participated in the Moscow Olympics but finished last in the tournament.
  
• 1981: The FIBA Asia Championship was held in Calcutta, India finished fifth.
  
• 1982: New Delhi hosts Asian Games again, India Men finished 8th of 13, women 5 of 5.
  
• 2008: NBA begins to send operations officers and former stars to India to increase activity in the country.
  
• 2009: The FIBA Asia Championship for Women was held in Chennai, India finished 6th.
  
  
• 2010: BFI signs sponsorship deal with IMG Reliance, Satnam Singh sent to IMG Academy.
  
• 2011: Geethu Anna Jose tries out for Los Angeles Sparks, San Antonio Silver Stars, Chicago Sky.
  
• 2011: Former NBA coach Kenny Natt named head coach of India.
  
• 2011: NBA opens office in Mumbai.
  
• 2013: India Women win gold at 1st ever FIBA Asia 3x3 championship.
  
• 2013: India-born Vivek Ranadive becomes owner of an NBA team, Sacramento Kings.
  
• 2014: India's Men's team won gold Medal at Lusofonia Games in Goa.
  
• 2014: India's Men's team beat China at the FIBA Asia Cup in. Wuhan.
  
• 2015: Satnam Singh becomes first Indian drafted to the NBA (by the Dallas Mavericks).
  

Arjuna Award winners

• 1961: Sarabjit Singh
  
• 1967: Khushi Ram
  
• 1968: Gurdial Singh
  
• 1969: Hav. Hari Dutt
  
• 1970: Gulam Abbas Moontasir
  
• 1971: Man Mohan Singh
  
• 1973: SK Kataria
  
• 1974: AK Punj
  
• 1975: Hanuman Singh
  
• 1977-78: T. Vijayaragavan
  
• 1979-80: Om Prakash
  
• 1982: Ajmer Singh
  
• 1991: Radhey Shyam
  
• 1991: Suman Sharma
  
• 1999: Sajjan Singh Cheema
  
• 2001: Parminder Singh
  
• 2003: Satya (Sports)
  
• 2014: Geethu Anna Jose
  

Dhyan Chand Award winners

• 2002: Aparna Ghosh
  
• 2003: Ram Kumar
  

Indian basketball has come a long way from the time the first ball was bounced somewhere in the middle of Punjab to the same state producing India's first NBA draftee, 85 years later. Through the years, we have seen 17 players and two coaches receive Arjuna and Dhyan Chand honours respectively, played basketball in the Summer Olympics, hosted several major international basketball competitions, and shocked heavyweights China in a legendary victory. Despite its growth, the sport still feels like it is in its infancy in India; considering India's massive population and growing economic status of the middle class, we have sold much short of our true potential.

Hopefully, the future will be much brighter than the past. The Indian basketball family will be looking forward to a major professional basketball league, more young players following Satnam's footsteps into the NBA, and further international success by our national teams. For the present, however, let's celebrate our favourite sport in our favourite country and go out to shoot some hoops!

Indian Railways basketball coach Aparna Ghosh given lifetime achievement award by Calcutta Sports Journalist Club

Aparna Ghosh has been one of the most accomplished players and coaches in Indian basketball, playing for the national team for 16 years and going on to become a highly-successful coach for Indian Railways. On Tuesday, April 21, the Calcutta Sports Journalists' Club announced that Ghosh will get the lifetime achievement award for her contributions to the game. Ghosh will be officially conferred the award at a ceremony on Thursday, April 23.

Ghosh also won the Dhyan Chand award in 2002, and is one of only two basketball coaches in India to receive this honour. It is India's highest award for lifetime achievement in sports and games, given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.

Ghosh has led Indian Railways women to a myriad of success for several years and currently serves as the Sports Officer at RSPB of the Railway Board. In 2010, she was one of 10 Indian coaches invited to the George Mason University (GMU) for a coaching camp.

Milestones in Indian Basketball

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So, I was going through the April 2010 edition of All Sports Magazine (Volume 4, Number 1), which was doing their 3rd anniversary special issue, and the cover feature was 101 Milestones in Indian Sports. The story was about a 101 events that represented the "good, bad, and ugly" development in Indian Sports.

Now here's the travesty... Amongst these 101, the events (justifiably) mentioned were from the following variety of sports: Cricket, Field Hockey, Football, Shooting, Chess, Billiards, Badminton, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling, Mountaineering, Swimming, Golf, Volleyball, Snooker, Cycling, Weightlifting, Boxing, Table-Tennis, and Formula One Racing.

Look at that list again, and if you're a basketball fan, shake your head in dissapointment. There hasn't been a basketball milestone (good or bad) in our sporting history memorable enough to be mentioned in this vast list? Unfortunately, I can't even argue against their decision to omit Indian hoops, because tragic as it may sound, the reality is that there have been no singular events in basketball here to top the other milestones mentioned by the magazine.

So, instead, I've decided to make my own, very short list of Milestones in Indian Basketball. Feel free to add any major events that I may have missed.

The rules of Basketball were first devised in 1891 by the Canadian physician Dr. James Naismith. India were actually one of the earliest countries to adopt the game and start playing it in 1930.

1930: Basketball first played in India.
1934: The first Indian National Championship for men is held in New Delhi.
1936: The Indian National Team (The Young Cagers) become a member of FIBA.
1950: The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is formed.
1975: The Men's National team finished fourth in the FIBA Asia Championship in Bangkok, the highest finish for India in the men's division.
1980: The Men's National team participated in the Moscow Olympics but finished last in the tournament.
1981: The FIBA Asia Championship was held in Calcutta, India finished fifth.
2007: The JDBasketball School begins to promote and teach basketball around India.
2008: NBA legend Robert Parish comes to India, ushering a flurry of activity of the NBA's interest in the country.
2009: NBA inaugurates basketball courts in India and launches the NBA-India website.
2009: The FIBA Asia Championship for Women was held in Chennai, India finished 6th.
2010: The Mahindra-NBA Challenge begins in Mumbai.

Early on, with basketball growing at such a quick pace in India, the game produced several notable talents. Many basketball stars in India have since been awarded the Arjuna Award (to recognize the contribution of a player and his outstanding achievement in sports) and the Dhyan Chand Award (for Life Time Achievement in Sports and Games has been instituted from the year 2002 to honour those sportspersons who have contributed to sports by their performance and continue to contribute to promotion of sports even after their retirement from active sporting career).

Arjuna Award

SARABJIT SINGH (Services) - 1961
KHUSHI RAM (Services) - 1967
GURDIAL SINGH (Services) - 1968
HARI DUTT (Services) - 1969
ABBAS MOONTASIR (Maharashtra & Railways) - 1970
MANMOHAN SINGH (Punjab & Services) - 1971
SURINDER K. KATARIA (Rajasthan & Railways) - 1973
ANIL PUNJ (Punjab) - 1974
HANUMAN SINGH (Rajasthan & Railways) - 1975
VIJAYRAGHVAN (Tamil Nadu & Bihar) - 1977
OM PRAKASH (Sr.) (Services) - 1979
AJMER SINGH (Rajasthan & Railways) - 1981
RADHEY SHYAM (Services) - 1982
SUMAN SHARMA (Punjab) - 1983
SAJJAN SINGH CHEEMA (Punjab) - 1999
PARMINDER SINGH (Sr.) (Punjab) - 2001

Dhyan Chand Award

APARNA GHOSH (West Bengal & Railways) - 2001
RAM KUMAR (Railways) - 2002

Unfortunately, our domestic successes and interest has never translated into international recognition. From the late 60s and early 80s, there were many talented ball players that featured in the Indian hoops scene.

There is only one woman on the Arjuna awards list - Suman Sharma in 1983. With our women's team showing drastic improvements in recent years, there is no doubt that many more female players will be given this distinction in the future.

The newly-launched Mastan League, India's first fully professional basketball league, which is currently taking place at the Mastan YMCA in Mumbai, has the promise to usher bigger events for Indian basketball. I wonder if it will also be remembered as a major milestone in the future...

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